AccScience Publishing / IJPS / Volume 0 / Issue 0 / DOI: 10.36922/ijps.1326
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Examining intergenerational transfers in Malaysia

Halimah Awang1 Muhammad Amirul Ashraf Abd Ghani1* Norma Mansor1
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1 Social Wellbeing Research Centre, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Submitted: 18 July 2023 | Accepted: 6 December 2023 | Published: 29 November 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

With the demographic changes toward the aging population, the role of intergenerational support and transfers has become increasingly prominent in the family support network. Using the Malaysia Ageing and Retirement Survey Wave 1 conducted in 2018/2019, this study analyzed the flow and factors associated with the amount of intergenerational financial transfers across three generations via multiple regression analysis. The results showed an upstream flow of financial support from younger to older generations. Variables with significant capability in determining the amount of intergenerational financial transfers include age, gender, ethnicity, education level, marital status, employment, health status, number of living children or parents, income, and financial assistance received from the government. Findings from this study are useful for policymakers to understand the issues of old-age financial security in Malaysia and thus implement relevant policies such as improving the coverage and adequacy of existing social protection programs, strengthening family support networks, as well as educating the public on the importance of having sound financial knowledge.

Keywords
Intergenerational relationships
Intergenerational transfers
Financial transfers
Malaysia
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interest.
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