The good news is that Myanmar, also known as Burma, is going to start paying pensions as part of the government’s “strategic social protection plan.” The bad news is there is not enough money in the budget, and the state pensions may be restricted to people over 100 years old. The aim is to give all of the estimated five million Burmese aged over 65 a pension of 25,000 kyat a month, the equivalent of $30. But the current budget of $1.17 billion doesn’t cover the demand, especially as the money has to cover existing civil service pensions. There are 569 people over 100 years old, well within the budget.
