AgingNCT04029194
The Causal Effects of Old Age Pensions
A study testing Assistance with old age pension application in people with Aging, run by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. at 1 site in India.
Trial summary
Old age pensions are a common feature of welfare policy worldwide. However, little is known about the effect of these pensions on the recipients and their families. In this study, the investigators will partner with the government of Tamil Nadu, India to study the effects of old age pensions. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 55 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Aging
- What is being tested?
- Assistance with old age pension application
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 1,459 participants
- Where
- 1 siteIndia
- Study dates
- 4 Feb 2019to 31 Dec 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 55 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Does not receive money from government scheme
- Over age 55
- Household does not own a house, or owns a kutcha house
- No member of the household is a working age male
- Household does not own any agricultural land, or household owns agricultural land and does not receive any income from agricultural activities
- No member of the household owns a car
Who cannot join
- -
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Old age pensions are a common feature of welfare policy worldwide. However, little is known about the effect of these pensions on the recipients and their families. In this study, the investigators will partner with the government of Tamil Nadu, India to study the effects of old age pensions. Households with a member who is likely to be eligible for the pension but not currently receiving it will be assigned to either a treatment or control condition. Those assigned to treatment will receive assistance in applying for the pension. Investigators will track outcomes of the elderly and their family members for several years following the intervention.
In addition to the impact of pensions on economic and health outcomes, the study will also explore how pension receipt affects the elderly's ability to cope with the impact of the COVID crisis.
- Conditions
- Aging
- Being tested
- Assistance with old age pension application
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Assistance with old age pension applicationBehavioural
The intervention will offer elderly assistance in applying for the old age pension.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Assistance with old age pension application |
| Control | No intervention | Not described |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Food consumption
Value of consumption of food per capita in rupees over the last month. Households will be asked to report consumption of different food items over the last month in rupees; this will be added and divided by the number of household members to arrive at per capita values.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Goods and services consumption
Yearly consumption on other goods and services in rupees. Households will be asked to report consumption of different goods and services over the last year in rupees; this will be added and divided by the number of household members to arrive at per capita values.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Self-assessment of financial wellbeing
Household self-classification of its financial situation on 1-10 scale, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Food security
Whether any household member cut meals because of insufficient resources in the past year (0/1 variable)
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention
Food security of elderly
Whether an elderly person cut meals because of insufficient resources in the past year (0/1 variable)
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention
Difficulty in performing daily activities
Participants will be asked over the last 30 days: how much difficulty they had in sitting for long periods, standing up from sitting down, getting up from lying down, standing for long periods, extending arms above shoulder level, washing whole body, getting dressed, getting to and using the toilet, taking care of household responsibilities, moving inside the home, walking 100 meters, walking long distances (1km), climbing a flight of stairs, stooping or kneeling, picking up things with fingers, carrying things, eating, getting where they want to go, concentrating on something for 10 minutes, learning a new task, and joining community activities. The scale is from 1-5, with 1 being no difficulty, 2 mild, 3 moderate, 4 severe, and 5 cannot do. The response for each activity will be converted to a z-score (subtract mean and divide by the standard deviation) and z-scores will be averaged to generate a composite index.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Basic and acute health
Participants will be asked to report severity of basic and acute health conditions over the last 30 days. Two outcomes: difficulty seeing and difficulty hearing someone are measured on a scale from 1-5, with 1 being no difficulty, 2 mild, 3 moderate, 4 severe, and 5 cannot do. Three outcomes: any problems with mouth or teeth in the last 12 months, discomfort urinating, and any falls or injuries in the last 12 months will be measured on a yes or no basis. The response for each activity will be converted to a z-score (subtract mean and divide by the standard deviation) and z-scores will be averaged to generate a composite index.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Chronic health
Participants will answer yes/no questions on whether they have any of the following health conditions: arthritis/rheumatism, stroke, chronic heart disease, hypertension and hypotension, diabetes, cancer, chronic lung disease, cholesterol, psychiatric illnesses, neurological disorders, kidney disease, liver disease. The response for each activity will be converted to a z-score (subtract mean and divide by the standard deviation) and z-scores will be averaged to generate a composite index.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Nutrition
Participants will be asked if they lost ~5kg without wanting to in the past 6 months (0/1 variable), gets enough food every day (0/1 variable), and number of meals per day. Each will be converted into a z-score and averaged.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Mental health
The geriatric depression index short form is used. Participants are asked yes/no questions: if they are satisfied with their lives, have dropped activities and interests, feel their life is empty, often get bored, in good spirits most of the time, afraid that something bad is going to happen to them, feel happy most of the time, often feel hopeless, prefer to stay at home, rather than going out and doing new things, have problems with memory, think it is wonderful to be alive, feel worthless, feel full of energy, feel lonely. Responses will be averaged.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Cognition
Cognition status, based on performance in cognition "quiz", i.e. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE).
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Healthcare utilization
Participants will be asked if they fell ill in the last 30 days, and, if yes, whether they used healthcare to deal with the illness (0/1); They will also be asked how much money (in rs.) they spent on health expenditure over the last 30 days. This will be converted into an index by averaging z-scores.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Loneliness
UCLA Loneliness scale short-form
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention. Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
Short-term food security during COVID
Whether cut meals in the last week (0/1), whether they lack resources to buy food in the following week (0/1), whether their family skipped meals (0/1), and whether there was a shortage of food in their household during the last week (0/1). Averaged into an Anderson index.
Measured: Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
Short-term mental health and loneliness during COVID
Whether they often felt lonely in the last week (0/1), were afraid bad things would happen to them (0/1), felt their situation was hopeless (0/1). Averaged into an Anderson index.
Measured: Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
Short-term medical access during COVID
Whether they needed to but could not see a doctor in the last month (0/1), needed but could not get medication in the last month (0/1). Averaged into an Anderson index.
Measured: Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
Short-term financial support during COVID
Whether they continued to receive financial support from their family (0/1), whether family continued contributing to household expenses (0/1). Averaged into an Anderson index.
Measured: Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
Short-term social distancing during COVID
Whether they continued to work during lockdown (0/1), whether they planned to resume work during lockdown (0/1), whether they had in-person visits (0/1). Averaged into an Anderson index.
Measured: Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
COVID vaccination rate
Whether they got the COVID vaccine.
Measured: Assessed once, in a phone survey between March - May 2021, 8-11 months after intervention start.
Share of participants with COVID vaccine access
Whether they had someone take them to receive the COVID vaccine.
Measured: Assessed once, in a phone survey between March - May 2021, 8-11 months after intervention start.
Secondary outcomes (10)
Survival of elderly person
Whether still living at time of follow-up survey (0/1 variable)
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Labor supply of household members
Whether employed (0/1 variable)
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Labor supply of household members
Amount of time spent working (days/week, hours/day)
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Labor supply of household members
Amount of income earned in rupees
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Household structure 1
Number of adults in the household
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Household structure 2
Number of children in the household
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Assets
Index of household asset ownership: car, two wheeler, TV, phone, refrigerator, washing machine, computer, air conditioner, internet.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Debt: household
Whether any member of household has outstanding debt or a loan (0/1 variable)
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Debt: elderly
Whether elderly person has outstanding loan (0/1 variable)
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Remittances
Net amount of money sent (i.e. amount sent less amount received) to relatives outside of household in Rs.
Measured: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted23 Jul 2019
- Study start4 Feb 2019
- Primary completion31 Dec 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Dec 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for AgingStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 1,459 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04029194
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 223749
- Status last verified
- May 2025
- First submitted
- 26 Apr 2019
- Last updated
- 11 Jul 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 11 Jul 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Causal Effects of Old Age Pensions
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04029194
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 223749
- Conditions
- Aging
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Active, not recruiting
- Enrolment
- 1,459 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.University, hospital or other
- Study start
- 4 Feb 2019 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Dec 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 23 Jul 2019 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Old age pensions are a common feature of welfare policy worldwide. However, little is known about the effect of these pensions on the recipients and their families. In this study, the investigators will partner with the government of Tamil Nadu, India to study the effects of old age pensions. Households with a member who is likely to be eligible for the pension but not currently receiving it will be assigned to either a treatment or control condition. Those assigned to treatment will receive assistance in applying for the pension. Investigators will track outcomes of the elderly and their family members for several years following the intervention.
In addition to the impact of pensions on economic and health outcomes, the study will also explore how pension receipt affects the elderly's ability to cope with the impact of the COVID crisis.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment | Experimental | Behavioral: Assistance with old age pension application |
| Control | No intervention | – |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 55 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Does not receive money from government scheme
- Over age 55
- Household does not own a house, or owns a kutcha house
- No member of the household is a working age male
- Household does not own any agricultural land, or household owns agricultural land and does not receive any income from agricultural activities
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- -
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Assistance with old age pension applicationThe intervention will offer elderly assistance in applying for the old age pension. | Behavioural | Treatment |
Primary outcome
Food consumption
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Value of consumption of food per capita in rupees over the last month. Households will be asked to report consumption of different food items over the last month in rupees; this will be added and divided by the number of household members to arrive at per capita values.
Goods and services consumption
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Yearly consumption on other goods and services in rupees. Households will be asked to report consumption of different goods and services over the last year in rupees; this will be added and divided by the number of household members to arrive at per capita values.
Self-assessment of financial wellbeing
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Household self-classification of its financial situation on 1-10 scale, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest.
Food security
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention
Whether any household member cut meals because of insufficient resources in the past year (0/1 variable)
Food security of elderly
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention
Whether an elderly person cut meals because of insufficient resources in the past year (0/1 variable)
Difficulty in performing daily activities
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Participants will be asked over the last 30 days: how much difficulty they had in sitting for long periods, standing up from sitting down, getting up from lying down, standing for long periods, extending arms above shoulder level, washing whole body, getting dressed, getting to and using the toilet, taking care of household responsibilities, moving inside the home, walking 100 meters, walking long distances (1km), climbing a flight of stairs, stooping or kneeling, picking up things with fingers, carrying things, eating, getting where they want to go, concentrating on something for 10 minutes, learning a new task, and joining community activities. The scale is from 1-5, with 1 being no difficulty, 2 mild, 3 moderate, 4 severe, and 5 cannot do. The response for each activity will be converted to a z-score (subtract mean and divide by the standard deviation) and z-scores will be averaged to generate a composite index.
Basic and acute health
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Participants will be asked to report severity of basic and acute health conditions over the last 30 days. Two outcomes: difficulty seeing and difficulty hearing someone are measured on a scale from 1-5, with 1 being no difficulty, 2 mild, 3 moderate, 4 severe, and 5 cannot do. Three outcomes: any problems with mouth or teeth in the last 12 months, discomfort urinating, and any falls or injuries in the last 12 months will be measured on a yes or no basis. The response for each activity will be converted to a z-score (subtract mean and divide by the standard deviation) and z-scores will be averaged to generate a composite index.
Chronic health
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Participants will answer yes/no questions on whether they have any of the following health conditions: arthritis/rheumatism, stroke, chronic heart disease, hypertension and hypotension, diabetes, cancer, chronic lung disease, cholesterol, psychiatric illnesses, neurological disorders, kidney disease, liver disease. The response for each activity will be converted to a z-score (subtract mean and divide by the standard deviation) and z-scores will be averaged to generate a composite index.
Nutrition
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Participants will be asked if they lost ~5kg without wanting to in the past 6 months (0/1 variable), gets enough food every day (0/1 variable), and number of meals per day. Each will be converted into a z-score and averaged.
Mental health
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
The geriatric depression index short form is used. Participants are asked yes/no questions: if they are satisfied with their lives, have dropped activities and interests, feel their life is empty, often get bored, in good spirits most of the time, afraid that something bad is going to happen to them, feel happy most of the time, often feel hopeless, prefer to stay at home, rather than going out and doing new things, have problems with memory, think it is wonderful to be alive, feel worthless, feel full of energy, feel lonely. Responses will be averaged.
Cognition
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Cognition status, based on performance in cognition "quiz", i.e. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE).
Healthcare utilization
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Participants will be asked if they fell ill in the last 30 days, and, if yes, whether they used healthcare to deal with the illness (0/1); They will also be asked how much money (in rs.) they spent on health expenditure over the last 30 days. This will be converted into an index by averaging z-scores.
Loneliness
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention. Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
UCLA Loneliness scale short-form
Short-term food security during COVID
Time frame: Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
Whether cut meals in the last week (0/1), whether they lack resources to buy food in the following week (0/1), whether their family skipped meals (0/1), and whether there was a shortage of food in their household during the last week (0/1). Averaged into an Anderson index.
Short-term mental health and loneliness during COVID
Time frame: Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
Whether they often felt lonely in the last week (0/1), were afraid bad things would happen to them (0/1), felt their situation was hopeless (0/1). Averaged into an Anderson index.
Short-term medical access during COVID
Time frame: Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
Whether they needed to but could not see a doctor in the last month (0/1), needed but could not get medication in the last month (0/1). Averaged into an Anderson index.
Short-term financial support during COVID
Time frame: Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
Whether they continued to receive financial support from their family (0/1), whether family continued contributing to household expenses (0/1). Averaged into an Anderson index.
Short-term social distancing during COVID
Time frame: Assessed during 3 phone surveys in March-December 2020, to gauge response to covid crisis.
Whether they continued to work during lockdown (0/1), whether they planned to resume work during lockdown (0/1), whether they had in-person visits (0/1). Averaged into an Anderson index.
COVID vaccination rate
Time frame: Assessed once, in a phone survey between March - May 2021, 8-11 months after intervention start.
Whether they got the COVID vaccine.
Share of participants with COVID vaccine access
Time frame: Assessed once, in a phone survey between March - May 2021, 8-11 months after intervention start.
Whether they had someone take them to receive the COVID vaccine.
10 secondary outcomes
Survival of elderly person
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Labor supply of household members
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Labor supply of household members
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Labor supply of household members
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Household structure 1
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Household structure 2
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Assets
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Debt: household
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Debt: elderly
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Remittances
Time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 11 Jul 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Assistance with old age pension application in people with Aging, run by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. at 1 site in India.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 Jul 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in India. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Food consumption (time frame: Assessed at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and at 7 years after intervention.). The study lists 20 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 Jul 2025.