Equity release plans aid aging society

The Chinese Dream has become a buzzword in Chinese and international media. While there are various interpretations about the origins and exact meaning of the Chinese Dream, it is quite obvious from the billboards and the articles that it mainly addresses the aspirations of the young. But if the younger generation are to realize their dreams, China has to overcome the problems posed by being the fastest aging society in history. An aging society offsets the demographic dividends, (potentially) burdens the public budgets and makes elderly care a big socioeconomic challenge.

The population of senior citizens in China is projected to increase from 194 million at the end of last year to 243 million by 2020 - and by 2050 China's elderly population is expected to reach 440 million, that is, close to the current population of the European Union. Despite taking many fruitful measures, especially the expansion of the social insurance and pension programs in the past decade, China is yet come to terms with the aging problem on the cultural and policy levels.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, did issue a document on elderly care in September. But despite having plenty of policy suggestions on developing community-based eldercare, pension service points, care insurance and the like, the document is short on real details.