Childless elderly require more than financial support

Spring Festival means happy family reunions for most Chinese people. But for parents that have lost their only child, the festival is a time of sadness as it only reminds them their loss.

Governments at all levels make efforts to support these families during the festival. There are many media reports of local authorities providing financial aid to families that have lost their only child, or civil servants and social workers visiting these families during the holiday.

But what these parents really need is not flowers, gifts or even money during the holidays, but rather a sound institutional arrangement for their well-being when they grow old, as they have no children to look after them in their old age.

It is a tradition in China that children look after their elderly parents. Even though society has drastically changed since reform and opening-up, young adults still play an important role in supporting their elderly parents. It’s an urgent task that the government steps in to provide the support to those parents who have lost their only child.

Many local governments provide subsidies or allowances to parents that lose their only child, but in reality they are usually far from enough. Many senior citizens’ pensions are not enough for them to live decent lives without the financial support of their adult children. Financial support to secure the basic life needs of these seniors based on the actual situation of local areas is in urgent need.

Therefore, the authorities should pay more attention to the transition from the family-based support for the elderly to community-based support for the elderly dominated by the government.