Govt aid for childless elderly not enough: experts

Seniors whose only child is disabled or has pre-deceased them are not getting enough government support, experts in elder care told the Global Times Tuesday.

The Beijing Municipal Committee On Ageing released a report Tuesday which revealed that in 2011, there were 17,820 seniors living in this situation in the capital, and each of them are entitled to a 200-yuan ($32) monthly government subsidy.

Song Shuyu, media officer of the committee, told the Global Times that the first time they published a report dealing with the elderly population who has no living child, or a disabled child, was in 2010. Yet Song claimed that she did not know anything in detail about these reports.

"The Beijing Municipal Commission of Population and Family Planning is responsible for the information collection," she said.

The population commission could not be reached Tuesday.

Chen Rui, the general secretary of Beijing Ruipuhua Old-Aged Care Fund, a private organization offering financial aid to senior residents in Beijing, told the Global Times that seniors in this position could present a major problem to society in the future.

Apart from the 200-yuan stipend for seniors who lost their only child, a parent with a disabled child would receive 160 yuan monthly, said Chen.

"In addition to this subsidy, seniors have access to a 2,800 yuan insurance policy for free," he said, adding that this insurance can help out in emergencies, such as developing a severe illnesses.

However, only those who meet certain conditions will receive the subsidy, including having a Beijing hukou (household registration) and the woman in the family must be aged over 49, the population commission told the Beijing Daily.

Nevertheless, Chen said that the government support offered is really not enough.

"The 200 yuan subsidy means only a little to these people," he said.

"Besides, our government should offer more aid, not just financially, but psychologically as well, which is what these parents need the most," Chen noted.

Chen cited the example of a 50-year-old female resident of Fangshan district, surnamed Kui.

Kui suffered a mental breakdown after she lost her only child and got divorced from her husband this year.

When Chen and his counterparts reached her for support, Kui had already rented a small place away from her home and stayed there for several months.

"She didn't want to return home, a place that would remind her of her dead son. She was lonely and isolated, and needed company rather than cash," he said.

However, despite Kui's desperate situation, Chen said that some of the other parents they helped whose only child had died, were in a worse psychological state than she was.

Feng Xiuchun, the deputy director of the Help Age China, told the Global Times that he thinks the situation is a negative result of the nation's family planning policy.

However, he added that in urban areas, he believes most seniors will receive a retirement pension, which would allow them to live a comparatively comfortable life compared to those in the countryside.

"But 200 yuan is better than nothing; you can buy a lot of vegetables for that in the market, and for those over 65 in Beijing, they can ride the bus for free," he said.

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs said that they are working on an amendment to the official standards for seniors to be admitted to nursing homes.

Those whose only child has died or is disabled are likely to need lower standard requirements to get a nursing home place, the Beijing Youth Daily reported in August.