Disintegrating Family Structure in India – A Reality Check

Advent of the materialistic lifestyle around the globe has had a profound effect on the index of human life as a whole and India is no exception to this. The changing equations in the family lives are not a new phenomenon as such and the past decades have witnessed a sharp increase in the numbers of disintegrated families in India. This is not surprising wholly because the economical parameters that bind us as a society are the main dictating points that determine our overall quality of life and decide our long term activities, including our family structure.

In the old times or what many of the senior citizenry refers to as “good old days”, the joint family system was predominant and was generally the norm. Cost of living was not skyrocketing, there was no compulsion on a family member to travel far and wide for employment and the general ethics towards life were very different from what they are now.

This definitely meant that the elders in a family easily doted upon their progeny for their wherewithal. Then came the time of nuclear families and when during the early 90s, India opened up to economic reforms and the old model of socialism was thrown out the window, there was a corresponding boom in the number of nuclear families across the country. Disinvestment became the order of the day and although this meant that there was a better economic security, it also meant that to maintain the economic security, professional lives became the focal point of existence.

Somehow, in a stratified country like India, this had a very adverse impact on the system of joint families. After all, people began to migrate to industrial setups and rural-urban migration went to an all time high. Children would set up their individual homes in locations that would suit their professional interests better and in the process the senior members of the family were considered as financial “burdens”. This may not have true for all the sections, but a general opinion of this sort definitely began seeping in and the growing number of old age homes is a testimony to this.

Today, the situation is not much different from what it was during the late 90s and early 2000s and in fact it can be said that situation in middle class households is getting worse. The change has been immense and severe to the cause of family structure in India, both in rural as well as in urban areas. The rising cost of living is further aggravating the issue by ensuring that migration- temporary and permanent remains a factor in deciding a family’s future.

This is where lies the importance of securing an independent and dignified old age for yourself. Instead of depending on the children to support you and/or your significant other in your old age, safeguarding your finances for such times is a far better option. HDFC Life offers you HDFC Life Pension Guaranteed Plan – a single premium annuity plan that ensures your financial freedom for life.  

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