The Impacts of Pensions on Older People's Socio-Spatial Care Relations as They Age in Networks in Rural Lesotho

Abstract

Social networks within Southern Africa's rural communities are often highly interconnected through kin relations. Research has demonstrated that historically older people age in place within kin networks, typically in multi-generational households, which are integral to their ageing experiences, such as through intergenerational contracts obliging younger generations to look after their older relatives. However, recent social policy favours aiding individuals experiencing poverty, including older people, with social cash transfers (SCTs) such as old age pensions. This paper explores the social and spatial impacts of pension payments on older people's care networks. In-depth participatory research undertaken in one rural community in Lesotho reveals the myriad interconnected and relational flows of cash transfers. We argue that SCT pension payments transform the position of older people within their social networks and transform interdependent communities spatially through their wider dispersal. The paper thus shows how the flow of pensions is changing socio-spatial care relations and re-positioning older people as economic contributors in their communities.