Two thirds of the world's population aged 60 or over live in developing countries. Sri Lanka's debt restructuring policy threatens to throw more elderly women into poverty.

The World Bank study Women, Business and the Law has documented a persistent gender pension gap in numerous countries, rich and poor alike. This divergence is partly due to gender-based legal disparities, for example, different retirement ages and the lack of accreditation of childcare periods. Because women have shorter working lives, earn less, and have a longer life expectancy than men, they often earn less in retirement.