Retirement an Elusive Dream in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA – The Honduran human-rights commissioner said in a report this week that the elderly must work to survive in this Central American nation, and more than half of them lack any type of formal education.

Commissioner Ramon Custodio said some 12,500 people over age 80 have to work for a living, and only five of every 100 retirement-age adults are actually retired and receive pensions.

The commissioner released his report as part of “Seniors Week” in Honduras.

Of the approximately 500,000 elderly people in Honduras, only “24,000 are retired and collecting pensions,” according to the report.

Most of the elderly people forced to work to survive live in the countryside, the report said.