Policy Shift: South Africa’s Old Age Pensions’ Influence on Perceived Quality of Life

Abstract

ABSTRACTNoncontributory pensions serve as an important resource for poverty-affected households in low- and middle-income countries. This study explores how a recent policy change to pension receipt influences perceived quality of life among older South Africans. We use survey data from the longitudinal World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health and from the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System census. We find pension receipt to have a positive impact on both men’s and women’s perceived quality of life. These findings hold when controlling for prior well-being status. We find a significant moderating factor of physical limitations on the relationship between pension receipt and quality of life. Individuals reporting the highest levels of physical limitation report a larger increase in their quality of life upon pension receipt than those with less severe physical limitations. We conclude that despite the well-documented household income-pooling in this population, pension receipt still leads to a significant positive impact on pensioners’ perceived quality of life.