May 2024
29May

The world’s largest pension fund may be running dry

A population equaling the size of the entire U.S. will retire from China's workforce by 2035, and the country isn't reproducing sufficiently to mend its fraying social safety net Fifty-eight-year-old Li Zhong, a traditional-Chinese-medicine salesman, retires in two years and doesn't fret about his pension. It's his daughter he is worried about. He recently took out a mortgage to help her buy a house in a Shanghai suburb. China's housing bubble burst in 2021, and prices are at their lowest levels...

May 29, 2024
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22May

China’s savings rate hurts model for growing investments — PAG chair

Looking at the Chinese economy, alternative investment firm PAG doesn’t look at the trendiest sectors as investment opportunities. Instead, when the Hong Kong-based manager sees them, it knows “which sectors to avoid,” said Weijian Shan, executive chair. “Let’s say that whatever sector is hot, we typically stay away from because China is a capital-rich country,” he told attendees at the SALT iConnections New York 2024 conference on May 20. Shan described the country’s savings rate as “on a league of its...

May 22, 2024
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06May

China. 1.07 billion people in basic pension scheme

China has been improving its social insurance system to better support development, with the number of participants in the basic pension reaching 1.07 billion by the end of March, a year-on-year increase of 14 million, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said. There were 240 million participants in the unemployment insurance scheme, up 4.49 million, and 290 million participants in the employment injury insurance scheme, up 5.58 million. From January to March, the total income of the basic pension,...

May 6, 2024
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April 2024
25Apr

China’s unique retirement plan: why children still matter when it comes to support in old age

At the end of last year, the number of people in China aged 65 and above reached 217 million, making up 15.4 per cent of the total population. This has led to concerns that with rapid ageing, the existing pension system may fail to keep pace. As a result, elderly people have turned to raising children to look after them in their old age. This is commonly known as yang er fang lao. Here, the Post explains the phenomenon. What is it ? Simply put yang...

April 25, 2024
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15Apr

Why richer, older China needs changes to its social contract

No one likes getting old. The pains and strains of becoming elderly wear on us. The worries about how to ensure we can provide for ourselves in old age looms largest of all, as countries’ birth rates fall Nowhere feels this more acutely than China, where a staggering 300 million peopleminimal or no pensionsmaller families The challenges are multifaceted. The government needs to build out rather than restrict the social safety net of pensions and healthcare for this growing segment of the country’s...

April 15, 2024
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05Apr

China’s Young People Are Giving Up on Saving for Retirement

China wants young people to put money away for retirement. Tao Swift, an unemployed 30-year-old, is not interested in hearing it. “Retire with a pension?” he asked. “I don’t hold much hope that I can definitely get my hands on it.” Mr. Tao, who lives in the southern city of Chengdu, is not alone in thinking this way. On social media forums and among friends, young people are questioning whether to save for old age. Some are opting out, citing the...

April 5, 2024
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March 2024
27Mar

Surge in China personal pension accounts, contributions lag

The number of personal pension fund accounts surged last year, but the scheme designed to shore up China’s pension system remained hamstrung by low contributions and a lack of investment, reports Caixin. More than 50 million people had set up personal pension accounts as of the end of last year, Zhai Yanli, director-general of the Social Insurance Management Center at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said Wednesday at an industry conference in Beijing. The number was up from...

March 27, 2024
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19Mar

Tutoring the Elderly Is Growing Fast in China

China's rapidly aging population is fueling a promising and fast-growing market for companies providing recreational classes and activities for the elderly middle class, from yoga to African drumming and smartphone photography. The growth potential of the industry contrasts sharply with the decline of the after-school private tutoring sector following a government crackdown in 2021 aimed at boosting record low birth rates by lowering education costs. "Education industries are transitioning to the silver economy," said Qiu Peilin, the Beijing head of Mama...

March 19, 2024
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11Mar

NPC deputy proposes implementing inclusive basic pensions for elderly aged 65 in China

A deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) Zhou Jinbo proposed the implementation of an inclusive basic pension system in China for those aged 65 and above who are not currently receiving a pension, Chinese media outlet thepaper.cn reported on Monday. Zhou suggested establishing an inclusive basic pension system so that those elderly can receive a regular income to meet their basic living needs, and enjoy a dignified life in their twilight years and enhance their sense of achievement and...

March 11, 2024
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February 2024
27Feb

Does aging society mean economic slowdown in China?

As China is busy preparing for the annual two sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), some Western media have been enthusiastically hyping that the Chinese economy is collapsing. Is the Chinese economy going to fail? What opportunities have China's growth brought to the world? China Economy from a Global Perspective is a 10-part series analyzing the above questions. The fifth essay focuses on China's population growth. Wang Dan is chief...

February 27, 2024
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