Social Security and Other Income Strategies Available to the Elderly in Buenos Aires

Abstract

As discussed in Chapter 1, elderly economic welfare, both in developed and developing regions, has been strongly associated with the operation of formal social security programmes. Less attention has been paid to other sources of support, which are often relegated to a residual category of ‘informal’ support networks. This chapter outlines the range of formal and informal income maintenance strategies open to elderly living in Greater Buenos Aires. Just as it is impossible to understand the condition of elderly individuals without referring to changing economic opportunities over their lifetimes, so any analysis of contemporary welfare institutions has to be put in a clear historical perspective.