No Old Age Pension: Where and Why Elderly People Lack State Support In most countries around the world, retirement is a natural outcome of working life, a time of earned rest. However, there are many countries where elderly people cannot rely on regular payments from the state. In some countries, there is no pension system at all, while in others it only covers a narrow circle of selected individuals — government officials, military personnel, or employees of large enterprises. The reasons for this phenomenon are diverse: from the complete collapse of state institutions to a conscious choice of the accumulative model. Let's look at where and why elderly people are left without pension support. Countries with No Pension System at All In some states, there is no pension system for anyone. These are usually countries that have suffered from prolonged wars, political instability, or the complete breakdown of state structures. Somalia is a classic example. For decades, there has been no functioning central government here, which has led to the complete collapse of all state institutions, including the social security system. The elderly are forced to rely solely on the support of relatives, local communities, and religious organizations. South Sudan, the youngest country in the world, also does not have a pension system. The reason is the extremely weak state infrastructure and the total dominance of the informal sector, where the overwhelming majority of the population works. Without formal employment, there are no insurance contributions, and therefore no pension funds. In Afghanistan, the pension system effectively ceased to exist after the Taliban came to power in 2021. In August 2025, payments were resumed for some former state officials — military personnel, teachers, doctors, and police officers. But farmers and other categories of citizens who did not have formal employment never had the right to a pension and remain without any support. Yemen, Eritrea, C ... Read more