Recently, Beijing instated the first "House Bank for the Aged" in the Shijingshan District. Elderly people living alone in an "empty nest" can turn their houses over to an agent "bank" and use the subsequent earnings to rent a comfortable place inside a home for the aged. This is a new choice for senior citizens who live alone and worry that they will not be able to support themselves in their last years.

Entrusting professional agents to rent out homes

Many aged people who live alone in an "empty nest" are reluctant to give up their hard–earned "family property". Cui Xuefan, formerly a senior economic administrator for the China National Petroleum Corporation, lived in the Andeli Community in the Dongcheng District. Both of her sons have emigrated abroad and they both asked Cui to live with them. But Cui was determined to reserve her house for her future grandsons and would not leave the family property.

Now, Cui has signed a contract with the "House Bank for the Aged". She has turned over her duplex home located in the Andeli Community to a real estate agency, the Beijing Golden-Keys Real Estate Agency Co., Ltd. The agency rents her property out and receives 30,000 yuan (about US$4,015) per year. Meantime, Cui has moved into the Longevity Mountain and Lucky Ocean International Service Center for the Aged, which is also provided by the "bank". There she pays 2,000 yuan every month and enjoys attentive service from the center.

"I turned 76 this year, I was living alone in my duplex. I felt very lonely and I worried about so many things. I wanted to rent out my house but I felt afraid that I would be cheated. Then I heard about the 'house bank'. This service allows me to hold my own house property card and receive rent. The money is enough to pay for a place inside the home for the aged, plus every month I get 500 yuan in pin money," Cui said. "I can rest assured."

Implementing discounts for the aged

The "House Bank for the Aged" project is co-organized by the Beijing Federation of Industry and Commerce, the Shijingshan Publicity Department and the Shijingshan Civil Affairs Bureau. Anyone over 60 simply submits an application to the "bank". The aged living alone in an "empty nest" can entrust the Beijing Golden-Keys Real Estate Agency Co., Ltd to rent out their houses, freeing them up to move into the Longevity Mountain and Lucky Ocean International Service Center. The aged use the rent earnings to pay for their expenses at the center. Meanwhile, the title of the house property still belongs to the aged, and in this way avoids any family conflict that could be caused by property rights claims. This system provides a way for the aged to subsist by renting out their houses.

It is worthwhile to try out the "House Bank for the Aged"

Currently, Beijing has 2.36 million old people, yet 47 percent of the beds in various agencies that provide care for the aged remain vacant. "Elderly people do not take full advantage of the resources offered," said Yi Mi, a specially invited researcher working at the Institute of the Aged, a part of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Yi Mi is also the deputy director of the Beijing Aged Committee Office.

Providing a way for senior citizens to utilize their houses to earn income is popular overseas, but it is a new system in China. "There are two problems for old people in Beijing. First, about half of the elderly population in Beijing owns a house property card, but they also face many home and property disputes. Second, the elderly often lack good financial awareness and are not capable of making their houses more profitable," Yi stated. "This kind of bank provides an excellent way to deal with tight budgets among the elderly and it also increases their assets and it gives them a way to avoid ownership disputes. Promoting this kind of service has great merit."

At present, many agencies for the aged in Beijing are encountering numerous problems, such as an uneven distribution of agencies, inadequate services, and low performance price ratios. Decent agencies that service the elderly population must pay attention to their elderly clients' mental health, and make them feel like real hosts inside these homes. The agencies must improve their services and facilities. Top grade and humane agencies for the aged are in great demand in Beijing, said Yi.

(China Development Gateway by Sun Wan November 14, 2007)