Many of China’s elderly rural residents, including farmers seen here in Bozhou, Anhui province, are forced to continue working long into retirement to earn a living, as pensions can be less than US$20 a month. Photo: WeiboMany of China’s elderly rural residents, including farmers seen here in Bozhou, Anhui province, are forced to continue working long into retirement to earn a living, as pensions can be less than US$20 a month. Photo: Weibo
Many of China’s elderly rural residents, including farmers seen here in Bozhou, Anhui province, are forced to continue working long into retirement to earn a living, as pensions can be less than US$20 a month. Photo: Weibo
Economy /  China Economy

China’s ageing rural peasants labour into their twilight years as pensions ‘cover only oil and salt’

  • The lack of support for elderly rural residents has become a worsening socio-economic problem for China amid its rapid urbanisation push
  • Decades of aggressive family-planning measures mean one out of four residents in the countryside will be older than 60 by 2025

Topic |   China economy
Orange Wang
Orange Wang

Updated: 9:28am, 24 Aug, 2020

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Many of China’s elderly rural residents, including farmers seen here in Bozhou, Anhui province, are forced to continue working long into retirement to earn a living, as pensions can be less than US$20 a month. Photo: WeiboMany of China’s elderly rural residents, including farmers seen here in Bozhou, Anhui province, are forced to continue working long into retirement to earn a living, as pensions can be less than US$20 a month. Photo: Weibo
Many of China’s elderly rural residents, including farmers seen here in Bozhou, Anhui province, are forced to continue working long into retirement to earn a living, as pensions can be less than US$20 a month. Photo: Weibo
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