Senior citizens to get US$390m extra under new welfare scheme
Print Edition
SHANGHAI’S senior citizens will receive an extra 2.5 billion yuan (US$390 million) in annual funding under a revised social welfare program set to take effect next year, the city government said yesterday.
Under the new system, all residents aged 65 and over will be issued with a Seniors’ Card, to which a sum of money will be credited each month. Initially, people will be able to use the cards only to pay for public transport, but their scope is likely to be extended in the future, an official told a media conference.
The monthly subsides will be 50 yuan for people aged 65 to 69, 120 yuan for those between 70 and 89, 300 yuan for citizens aged 90 to 99, and 500 yuan for anyone aged 100 or above.
“The new policy is designed to improve welfare standards, benefit more people and make (the allocation of funds) fairer for all,” the official said.
The new scheme will cost the government 3.3 billion yuan a year, up from 850 million yuan at present.
Also, with the lowering of the qualifying age, the number of people who will receive financial aid will grow to 2.7 million from 1.7 million, the official said.
Under the existing system, all citizens aged 70 and above are given a transport card, which allows them to travel free on buses and the subway.
People aged 85 and over also receive a free bottle of milk per day, while those over 90 get an additional financial subsidy of 300 yuan per month.
While the transport cards will be discontinued under the new deal, free milk will still be provided to everyone aged 85 and over, the official said.
When asked how the government arrived at the figure of 120 yuan as the subsidy for people aged 70 to 89 — the largest of the original subgroups — Wu Jianrong, the government’s deputy secretary-general, said it was based on their current usage of the free travel cards.
For the vast majority of that group, 120 yuan will more than cover their usual bus and subway fares, he said.
“According to figures from the city’s transport authority, about 1.6 million seniors, or 60 percent of the total, did not use their cards at all in October. A further 20 percent used them fewer than 16 times, while only about 8 percent used them 40 times or more,” Wu said.
While the most frequent travel card users might feel they will be losing out under the new scheme, it is designed to help a wider section of the city’s elderly population, and in the long run most people will be better off, he said.
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