ABSTRACT
According to official statistics, the per capita monthly retirement benefits of a pensioner in Hungary in July 1973 was 997 forints. After paying an average rent of 300 forints per month in 1974, the average pensioner had less than 700 forints to live on. Even with expanded nursery facilities, approximately 17 percent of all children of age fourteen and below are cared for by grandmothers, who most frequently simply act as unpaid baby-sitters, guardians, and housekeepers. Without their assistance, a decent life for many young families would cease to exist. Nevertheless, these grandmothers are just as exploited as their working peers. Some older women are relatively well off in the sense that they usually have one commodity that's bargainable: an apartment.
