Across China: If filial piety does not help, try filial funds

On the door of Hexi village administration office in east China's Shandong Province hangs a list of all residents aged 70 or over, followed by the names of their children and the contributions each child has made to a community fund.

Children of the elderly are expected to contribute at least 100 yuan (15 U.S. dollars) to the fund each month. For each 100 yuan received, the administration adds a further 20 yuan, village chief Wang Jinghai explained. Every month, he personally delivers the money received to each pensioner, plus the extra 20 percent. The system is transparent, inventive and effective.

A knock-on effect of the recently abandoned one-child policy and vastly improved public health measures is that China is now faced with a rapidly aging population. While striving to improve financial services and provide better care for the elderly, simple innovative ideas at the local level can do a lot to help.

A person who receives 1,200 yuan a year from their children through the Hexi fund will receive another 240 from the village, plus another 1,200 yuan in state pension. All that is then needed is another 60 yuan per month from farming or herding to reach Shandong Province's 3,372 yuan poverty line.

Zeng Rongfan and her husband paid 120 yuan into the fund this month. Her parents-in-law are both in their 80s. Initially, she was worried that the arrangement might be intrusive -- China has a long tradition of keeping family matters within the family -- but she has since found that "it really does help people to encourage each other to support our old people."

It is not uncommon in rural China for aged people to live in poverty because their children are either unwilling or unable to contribute to their wellbeing, according to Kong Xiangzhi, an authority on rural development with Renmin University. The 20 percent bonus is just enough of a carrot, with public shame as the necessary stick, to increase children's willingness to support their parents, even if it cannot do anything about their ability to pay.

Wang Xinli, 73, has 13 acres of land and two sheep. His two sons and three daughters are working elsewhere. Typical of pensioners the world over, Wang would rather get by on as little as possible than ask his children for support. "I do not bother them for money unless I get sick or have some real problems," he said. Since the list was put in place, Wang's children have been regular contributors and he does not have to worry about money anymore.

A public list ensures that most people pay regularly into the fund as they value their reputation, said Li Guijie, chief of Qingtuo Township, responsible for Hexi and another 80 villages.

"The list system has been introduced in 60 local villages. It forms an effective bottom line and ensures everyone receives the support they need," Wang Jinghai said.

There are more than 220 million people aged 60 or over in China, about the same as the total population of France and Italy combined; more than the entire population of a huge country like Brazil. They account for more than 16 percent of the population and by 2050, the UN expects their ranks to have swelled to around 500 million. Endi