Help lags for seniors whose only child dies

Lying in his bed, Tang Jiankang, a 63-year-old man with motor neuron disease (MND), worried about finding a person to replace his ayi since the current one, who had turned 70, decided to retire.

Tang's worry might not be so acute if his only son had not died 12 years ago.

Other concerns: The subsidy offered by the city to each retired parent who lost their only child lags behind those of other major cities, and the support system such as nursing homes also lags behind the need.

For Tang, there's little to do besides reading, listening to the radio and watching TV because his physical abilities have been decreasing since he was 30 and it is not possible for an MND patient to live without an ayi or other help, he said.

"It's very hard to find a good and responsible ayi and after that expense, there is not much left of my monthly pension, despite a subsidy of 150 yuan (US$24.10) every month from the government," he said.

The monthly subsidy for a retired person who lost an only child is too low considering the current cost of living, said Zhang Lili, president of Shanghai Women's Federation, at the Shanghai People's Congress yesterday.

In Beijing the subsidy is 200 yuan and in Tianjin, 270 yuan per parent, and the Shanghai subsidy and apparently lags behind the city's economic development, the federation said.

Shanghai offers a one-time subsidy of 5,000 yuan for each family and the monthly subsidy of 150 yuan for each parent when they reach the legal retirement age, 50 for women and 60 for men, if they decide not to have another child or adopt a child, according to a policy started in 2008.

Zhang said the city government should increase the one-time subsidy from 5,000 yuan to 8,000 yuan and lift the monthly subsidy to around 250 yuan to 300 yuan for such families.

Local legislators and political advisers are also asking the city government to cancel the age limit implemented in 2008 that says a subsidy is not paid if the child dies when he's older than 16. The number of families whose children died in their 20s is also on the rise.

But money was not Tang's only concern. "I know a lot of parents who lost their only child. There may be a difference among everyone's requests but we all need better care, including our pension, health care and mental support," Tang said.

"I hope I can move to a good senior's home before I turn 70 and when I die, I want it to be dignified."