A/HRC/14/31 12. The overarching goals of the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing include ensuring the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, and civil and political rights by older persons and the elimination of all forms of violence and discrimination against older persons; achieving gender equality for older persons through inter alia eliminating gender discrimination; and providing quality health care, support and social protection for older persons. The Plan of Action combines a statement of political will with practical recommended actions for States. Given their specificity and level of detail, these are vital tools to guide a State in implementing its political and legal commitments. B. Determinants of poverty among older persons 13. Assessing poverty among older people is a complex exercise, and several factors cause household surveys to underestimate poverty among older persons.8 For example, there is a lack of understanding of the dynamics of dependency upon different family members. Disaggregated data on this issue is lacking, which leads to a lack of understanding of how income is distributed within a household and of the specific situation of older persons within that household. Measures of old-age poverty that rely on household income ignore the fact that in many multigenerational households resources are allocated disproportionately towards children and those of working age. 14. Difficulties in assessing poverty among older people are particularly problematic from a human rights perspective. They result in weaker knowledge of the specificities of old-age poverty, which most likely leads to policy choices that ignore and possibly exclude older people living in extreme poverty. 15. While increased longevity is a worldwide phenomenon, the elderly population is by no means uniform, and risk factors for poverty are multiple depending on the country and on personal situation. Core factors include: lack of access to regular income and work and health care, declining physical and mental capacities, and dependency within the household. 16. As people grow older, they tend to be progressively excluded from the formal and informal work markets by employers who prioritize a younger workforce. At the same time, they are often not protected by social security systems (addressed below). Without access to work or income, the poorest tend to depend on others for their survival or have to seek less secure sources of income (often begging or undertaking menial work). Research indicates that the older persons who manage to enter and remain in the workforce occupy less attractive jobs, with lower pay than people of prime age.9 17. As people age, they become frailer and their need for health-care services is likely to increase. Such needs incur costs that older persons cannot always cover adequately. For example, when user fees are imposed on health-care services, older persons without a reliable income may not be able to access these services. In these contexts, many may fall into a vicious cycle where poor health engenders poverty and poverty engenders poor health. 18. Households with children headed by older persons and households consisting only of older persons, in particular single women, tend to be more vulnerable to poverty. The 8 9 GE.10-12583 Robert Holzmann, David A. Robalino and Noriyuki Takayama (Eds.), Closing the Coverage Gap (Washington, D.C., World Bank, 2009), p. 41. Leonardo Gasparini, Javier Alejo et al., “Poverty among the Elderly in Latin America and the Caribbean”, Background paper for the World Economic and Social Survey, 2007: The World Ageing Situation. 5