Intergenerational solidarity and oldage support:

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Intergenerational solidarity and old-age support
the changing role of family and government in
China Du Peng Institute of Gerontology Renmin
University of China
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1. Background

• China is facing a challenge at the beginning of
  an ageing society
• Rapid ageing population
• Strong tradition of filial piety and informal
  support
• The government want to keep the tradition and
  gradually develop the formal support system.

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Three decades practice of family planning

• Decline of fertility rate
• Smaller household size
• Changing living arrangements

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Tradition and changes

• Dual economic system
• Tradition of family support
• Filial piety
• Increasing numbers of floating population
• Ageing issues get more attention

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Policy and law

• 1982 UN World Assembly on Ageing
• 1996 Law on Protecting the Rights and Benefits of
  Older Persons
• 2002 United Nations Madrid International Plan of
  Action on Aging
• To build a harmonious society

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Intergenerational solidarity--UN MIAPA 2002

• Solidarity between generations at all levels --
  in families, communities and nations -- is
  fundamental for the achievement of a society for
  all ages.
• Solidarity is also a major prerequisite for
  social cohesion and a foundation of formal public
  welfare and informal care systems.
• Changing demographic, social and economic
  circumstances require the adjustment of pension,
  social security, health and long-term care
  systems to sustain economic growth and
  development and to ensure adequate and effective
  income maintenance and service provision.

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Challenges

• What are the challenges the family facing to
  provide the support?
• Can the family members provide enough support to
  the elderly?
• Do the children want to support their elderly
  parents?
• What are the governments doing to balance the
  formal and informal support?

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2. The population aging and the elderly in China

• 60 and over reached 153.4 million, or 11.6 of
  the total population
• the elderly population aged 65 and over was 106.4
  million, covering 8.1 of the total.
• More than 430 million elderly by 2050

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Demographic change in China,1949-2005
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Goals in the near future

• Total population1.5 billion
• TFR 1.8

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Life expectancy, Economic resources

• 73 years
• 80 years for developed area
• Diverse economic resources

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Old age security system reform

• Established in 1951
• Retirement age is 60 years for males and 50 for
  females.
• 15 years and more contribution
• Reform of enterprise retirement system

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Progress

• 50 million retirees
• Emerging pension system in rural areas
• Universal pension system for migrant workers
• New health care system
• Community care subsidy

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3. Intergenerational solidarity and old age
support

• The proportion of elderly living alone has been
  increasing.
• Filial piety is not enough for the elderly.
• Intergenerational solidarity needs the efforts of
  both generations.
• Should China postpone the retirement age?

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Action

• Formal support is enhanced so that a balance of
  formal and informal support can be achieved.
• To speed up the building of a social service
  system suitable for an ageing society.
• Pursuing a new balance of formal support and
  filial piety.
• Promoting the intergenerational solidarity.

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• Some new concepts have replaced the traditional
  filial piety, for example, elderly and young
  generation is reciprocal, both of them have equal
  rights and should respect each other
• Filial piety is playing important role but the
  social security is fundamental to help the
  children to practice it.

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• Elderly people are encouraged to actively
  participate in the social development and
  activities so that they can contribute to the
  society further, and they can keep pace with the
  social development.
• The basis of intergenerational solidarity is the
  understanding of both generations.

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Film festival on older persons

• 10 movies on the life of elderly and
  intergenerational relationship were showed on the
  Central Television covering the whole nation.
• Many elderly learned more about the life of
  others and what the young generations ideas on
  the elderly, while the young people have learnt a
  lot about the life of the elderly and how to
  communicate and make friends with them.

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Beijing

• Welfare pension
• One child family subsidy
• New policy announced in last October
• 11 items including concessions on transport,
  leisure activities, cultural activities, home
  care, health check, legal consultancy
• More beds in institutions.

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4. Conclusion

• China has the largest number of elderly
  population in the world it is impossible to keep
  the traditional way of family support to the
  increasing number of elderly.
• China is exploring a way to seek the balance of
  formal and informal support to solve the emerging
  issues in the process of population ageing.

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• Filial piety has to be combined with the
  development of social security to play its role
  in modern China.
• The debates on the intergenerational solidarity
  and old age support have promoted the government
  to integrate these issues into the social policy
  and developmental strategy on building a
  harmonious society.

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• The huge size of elderly population and the
  changing needs of them.
• For the established pension and health care
  system, the level need to be raised along with
  the economic development, and the gap between
  urban and rural elderly narrowed.

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• The ongoing debate is that should China develop
  the institutional care further or just develop
  the community care.
• Psychological issues and emotional support are
  emerging needs for the elderly living separately
  from their children.

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• Thank you