Issues of social and economic development interest not only people associated with these areas, but also ordinary citizens. For some, this information serves only to quench short-term interest, while for others, for example, for those wishing to move to a particular country, it is extremely useful and important.
The question of whether there are pensions in China is especially acute, since the situation with the overpopulation of the Middle Kingdom has long been known to everyone. As well as the fact that such a large industrial state is unlikely to be able to fully ensure the life of more than one and a half billion people. So what do old people and disabled citizens live on?
Chinese population
Now the society of China is going through hard times. And before you talk about whether there are pensions in China, it is worth touching on this sensitive aspect.
The main problem of this seemingly successful state is the age of citizens: now about 15% of residents have already crossed the mark of 65 years. Given the fact that the number of children does not reach this figure, the population of China is old.
Thus, the standard of living in economically developed China is now quite low. Due to the total number of elderly people (about 200 million), the state, of course, is not able to pay everyone.
Are there any pensions in China?
The answer, oddly enough, is positive. But here there are some nuances, since in China there is no established system of pension provision. The state is only thinking about its implementation, however, at the moment, no visible changes have occurred.
Are pensioners paying incapable in China?
The only type of payment that can be talked about with confidence is material assistance to people with disabilities. The social security institute was organized for them a long time ago and did not stop its activity even in connection with the overpopulation of the country. The standard of living of disabled people in China improves every year: they do not experience problems with social adaptation and are exempted from the obligation to support poor relatives.
Who has the right to rely on payments
So, having sorted out the question of whether there are pensions in China, we can proceed to the next point, namely: who receives accruals from the state? They are paid to a few, only to citizens of the corresponding age who worked in certain areas:
- state;
- industrial;
- economic (management).
To receive a pension, you only need to have an experience of 15 years and deduct 11% of the salary to the appropriate fund. However, there remain citizens holding other posts or living in rural areas. Are pensions paid in China to pensioners-peasants? Unfortunately, until 2009, the answer was no. They have nothing to transfer to specialized funds, and their work does not belong to the state sphere.
How the Celestial Pension System Works
Each person holding a position in one of the above areas deducts 11% of wages. Of these, 7% is sent by the employer, and 4% is transferred by the employee. This happens at the time the money is credited to the employee’s account and is not agreed with him. Sometimes pension savings are accumulated directly at the enterprise itself, which monthly deducts the required amount to the departed employee.
The Fund has the right to invest stored funds in various enterprises with the aim of increasing them. Each citizen can count on the fact that after retirement he will receive exactly the amount that he invested from the payment of his labor.If necessary, funds are indexed taking into account inflation, so older people who leave the workplace remain confident that they will be able to at least feed themselves, albeit without excesses.
Payout Amount
Readers of the article already know whether there is an old-age pension in China, it remains only to talk about its size. It is about 20% of the average salary in the region + surcharge from the savings account about 60% of the last employee pay.
The average pension in the Middle Kingdom is from 900 to 1300 yuan (~ 8400-12300 rubles) with a living wage from 1500 to 3450 monetary units (~ 1400-32200 p.). Moreover, older people without disabilities do not have any benefits, so we can only hope for a family.
Villager
As previously mentioned, until 2009, peasants did not even know about the existence of pensions, so only children really remained their only support. Young people traveled to cities where wages were often higher than income from the sale of crops.
However, even after the introduction of pension payments, the situation did not change much, because the monthly size of these charges amounted to no more than 10% of the profit brought by the peasants. Ordinary villagers growing vegetables and fruits for themselves did not at all enter the group in need of material support - according to the state, they themselves are able to feed themselves.
The life of old people in the Middle Kingdom
Because of the current situation, it is basically the same for older people whether they receive a pension in China, because its size does not fully cover expenses. For this reason, couples always try to get a child from whom their breadwinner will grow in the future. However, due to the state-introduced program designed to reduce population growth, there can only be one family.
In the society of the Celestial Empire, it is generally accepted that a young man will achieve much greater success in his career, therefore girls are avoided as much as possible, interrupting pregnancy at a time that allows you to determine gender. Such a policy leads to an unequal ratio of women and men in the country - the number of the latter is growing rapidly. In addition, not every couple is able to conceive a male child, and sometimes a woman is completely barren.
It is this desperate measure of the state that leads to the rapid aging of the population. She also forces to violate the main ethical rule of the Celestial Empire, according to which the child is obliged to take care of his parents. Unfortunately, in the current demographic situation, it is very difficult to maintain a family and parents alone. Only the most loyal children are capable of this, ready to work hard.
Therefore, it is not so important whether China pays an old-age pension, the main thing is to have strong intra-family relations. Apparently, only they are able to save the elderly from poverty.