Social protection of the elderly in China

Abstract

Russia is well aware of the fact that the Chinese pension system began to be actively formed in the PRC only in the last 30 years – since the mid-90s of the XX century, since it was considered normal and natural that children and grandchildren take care of their elderly relatives themselves (Confucianism has fostered a respectful and reverent attitude in its citizens for many centuries to people of respectable age, and especially to elderly parents). Before that, only a small group of people, about 5.5%, who had worked in the civil service or in production for more than 15 years, had the right to a pension. All other elderly people were deprived of state assistance, which was often aggravated by the fact that many elderly people had only one child ("one family, one child" - the demographic policy of the People's Republic of China, in force in 1979-2015), which did not always contribute to timely and high-quality assistance from relatives. It was only since 1995 that the pension system in China began a global restructuring, so the social protection of the elderly is becoming even more important and relevant, since still not all categories of the elderly in China can count on the pension assistance from the state that provides them with a comfortable existence. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, as of the beginning of 2021, the elderly population of China has reached 253 million people, which is 18% of the total population. According to the forecast data calculated in accordance with the principles of demographic statistics, by 2050 one in four elderly people in China will be. The purpose of this article is to use the center "People and Happiness" as a starting point for studying the problem of ensuring the well–being of older people. Improving the comfort and well-being of the elderly is the goal of creating conditions for a decent life for the elderly. From the point of view of creating conditions for well-being, the development of the industry of care for the elderly is considered. Based on the analysis of the development and current situation in the elderly care system in China, the article will present proposals and guidelines for the development of the model of the elderly care industry, as well as ideas and recommendations for the development and construction of the elderly care industry in various countries of the world and China.