Newsletter 2: October 2008
Migration and Social Protection

 
 

Social Support for the Aged in Rural China: The Role of the Community

  
 

Tsinghua University Gerontology Center www.tsinghua.edu.cn/eng/index.jsp

 
 

1. Background:

  
 

Population over 60 has reached 153 million by the end of 2007, making up about 11.6% of the total population while population over 65 accounted about 8.1% of the total population. About 60% of old people live in rural areas and the aged population ratio in rural areas is always higher than that in urban areas.

Traditional support for the aged in rural areas of China takes family support as its main form and carrier with a strong ideology of filial piety. However, it is no longer feasible for the elderly to entirely depend on their children and family for old age support. Now more than 150 million China rural laborers have migrated to urban areas, leaving their old empty nesters behind. Young women used to be the main supporter of the aged in rural areas, now they account about 40% of the migrating population. Due to the rapid modernization of China, the traditional filial piety ideology no longer works in rural families either. Most of the rural elderly are actually depending on themselves and spouses rather than their children and grandchildren. Nevertheless, their main source of income is farming, which has become less and less profitable.

China enters an aging society with neither a good financial foundation nor a completed social security system. The urban-rural dual welfare system attached to the urban-biased policy of China makes rural aging people receive very little welfare benefits. There had been an attempt of building a rural society endowment insurance for rural aged in China in mid 1990s, which turned out to be a total failure due to the nonparticipation of central budget. Now more and more people are placing their hopes on rural communities and Association of the Aged in rural villages, expecting them to be important sources of support for the aged in rural areas.

  
     
 

2. The first round of fieldwork:

  
 

The study by the research team at Tsinghua University intends to understand the impact of culture on the traditional arrangements for elderly care in rural China and the implications of community development for potential right-based income security schemes to meet the needs of the elderly.
 
The first round of field work was completed by August 8th, 2008. The team has generated some valuable information from the three rural communities (Jiangxiang Village in Jiangsu Province, Dongzhuangtou Village in Shandong Village, and Zhaizi Village in Shanxi Province) selected for the study. While the material gathered is waiting for systematic analysis, some general impression of the sites with regard to the old age support can be draw as follow.

The three rural communities develop at different levels. In comparison, Jiangxiang Village (JX) in Jiangsu Province is the most developed economically and the old villagers are covered by community retirement pensions. Zhaizi (ZZ) Village in Shanxi Province is the least developed community with less then 10% of the old villagers having pension income and others making a living through agricultural production. The level of economic development of Dongzhuangtou (DZT) Village is in between. Although the only a few live on pension, the community business provides opportunities for the elderly to access to paid positions.

It seems that traditional arrangements of aged people living with one of their adult children under the same roof have been seriously undermined once the old people are financially secured. The majority of the elderly who have a stable income choose to live in a separate house from their children. This separation of living within the community does not disengage the old people from their families. On the contrary, it gives both the elderly and the younger generations more free space and avoids some generational conflicts.

There is a need to rethink of the aged as a valuable resource in the rural community development. The overwhelming majority of old people, especially those under age of 80s, in these villages are not dependent on anyone for a living. Some have to work as a result of lacking support. However, many of them engage in production as a way of life even they have enough income from family and the community.  

There are serious problems with those who do not have income, who are too old to work, and whose children are not in a financially sound situation. Many of these people are aged women. Even under the same roof, they tend to be neglected by other members of the family.

It seems the status of the old people is related to both the local economy and community organizations. Resources only from farming usually are not enough to fund any welfare plans for the aged. Industries and commercial businesses are needed in searching for funding. Grass-root organizations, whether it is the village committee, or local farmers’ association, or the aged association in the village, play important roles in advocating and organizing specific actions for old age support.