Pension, healthcare top queries of senior citizens online

New Delhi: Pension-related concerns, information about social welfare schemes and assistance in finding daycare centres and doctors were among the top queries raised by senior citizens on the government helpline ‘Elderline’ this year, according to official data. According to the data, 87, 218 calls were received on the helpline’s toll-free number 14567. Elderline is an initiative of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to support distressed senior citizens across the country in collaboration with its NGO partners.

The helpline, currently running and active in 31 states and Union Territories, received calls about multiple issues, including distress calls related to pension-related problems and to get information regarding social welfare schemes, daycare centres, hospitals and doctors, the data stated. HelpAge India, one of the NGOs that helps the ministry run the helpline in eight states of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and the Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, said from January 2023 until September 2023, it received a total of 13,086 calls, which is about 25 per cent of the total calls the national helpline received.In about 21 per cent of the calls, senior citizens sought information about old age homes, daycare centres, hospitals, doctors and daycare givers, the data stated. Meanwhile, 33 per cent of calls sought guidance regarding legal issues, social security, pensions and the Maintenance Act, it said.