As nearly 60 percent, or 86 million elderly people in China live
in rural areas, the country is probing the establishment of an
old-age security system in the areas, says a white paper issued by
the information Office of China's State Council Tuesday.
The document, titled "The Development of China's Undertakings
for The Aged," says that the government has begun to study the
establishment of an old-age social security system in rural areas
in order to guarantee the basic livelihood of the elderly people,
by highlighting the role of the land and the family in providing
for elderly people.
By the end of 2005, the paper says, about 1,900 counties in 31
provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities under the central
government had established their own old-age social insurance
systems.
More than 54 million farmers were involved, with the accumulated
insurance funds reaching 31 billion yuan (US$4.2 billion). And more
than three million farmers now receive pensions.
In recent years, the government has gradually established a
uniform basic old-age insurance system in urban areas. The white
paper says that by the end of 2005, the number of people
participating in the basic old-age insurance scheme across China
had reached 175 million, 43.67 million of whom were retirees.
The ageing of China's population accelerated in the first years
of the new century. By the end of 2005, there were close to 144
million people over the age of 60 in China, accounting for 11
percent of its entire population, posing a big challenge to the
government on how to guarantee the legitimate rights and interests
of the elderly people.
(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2006)