A SILENT CRISIS: IS YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN TRULY READY?

India is ageing—and we aren’t ready. Life expectancy and retirement savings have improved, but one crucial requirement remains overlooked: daily human care. Not hospitalization or medicine, but help with bathing, dressing, taking medication and meals. Retirement planning today focuses on pensions, savings and annuities. But what about Parkinson's, dementia, severe arthritis, or loneliness—when your real need is for someone to assist you every day? This looming crisis calls for a solution: senior care insurance, covering the true costs of caregiving at home, day after day, not just in hospitals.

- MANEESH MISHRA

We're living longer, but not healthier

India’s life expectancy has risen past 70, but are we living well in our seventies and eighties—or merely surviving? Chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease are on the rise. Around 10% of older Indians struggle with basic tasks like eating, bathing, or walking, and more than half have at least one chronic illness.

Eldercare was once a family responsibility. Today, many seniors live alone or with minimal support, relying on hired help—and cases of neglect and abuse are all too common. Assisted-living centres exist but are expensive, creating two-tiered ageing experience: the wealthy have options, while the middle class and lower-income groups are largely on their own.

What senior care insurance could look like