India’s retirees tap savings, restrict food expenses as living costs soar

India’s retirees tap savings, restrict food expenses as living costs soar

New Delhi: T.L. Wali, a 66-year-old lawyer in Delhi's high court, had been looking forward to retirement. But with India's living costs soaring, he is now forced to dip into his savings and will need to keep working longer just to pay for medicine, travel and household expenses. "I can't even think about retired life," he told Reuters at a postal bank, where he had come to withdraw funds. Wali has cut back on fruit, eating out and visits to relatives. He estimates his income is now less than half what it was before COVID-19 struck, with clients unable to pay what they did before the pandemic and his savings yielding less interest in inflation-adjusted terms. While better off than many his age, inflation has forced Wali and millions of other elderly Indians to make tough choices. Sharply rising prices are hitting older people the world over as global supply problems caused by the pandemic -- and made worse by the Ukraine war -- propel food and fuel costs higher. In India, meagre state pensions mean only a minority of retirees can afford proper healthcare with nearly 15 million of those aged 60 and above - around 10% of the