Bathroom services at home for the elderly on the rise

On the outskirts of Beijing, Yao Pei jiu, a 60-year-old man, is bathed by health workers in a portable plastic bath. This is a growing trend in China as the demand for home bathroom services for the elderly is on the rise. With the elderly expected to reach 500 million by 2050, Yao's daughter Yao Yuan nu expresses concern about the lack of support services for families like hers.

China is facing a demographic crisis, the result of the country's one-child policy in place from 1980 to 2015. Although the policy is being lifted, the birth rate remains low, and the youngest say the high housing prices, job insecurity and economic instability. reasons not to start a family. This growing elderly population is putting pressure on the state pension system, which the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimates could run out of funds by 2035.

In response to this, China is considering revising its pension plan, suggesting an increase in the retirement age. Although the language used is vague, the message is clear that millions of Chinese must prepare for potentially longer working years. Compared to Western countries, the Chinese retire relatively early, with women retiring at 50 and men at 60. However, this proposed change has been met with strong opposition on the social media platform of the China, Weibo.

In Shanghai, 91-year-old Jin Lianrong lives comfortably at home with a caregiver, with his children always ready to support him. Shanghai already offers support services for the elderly, and Jin's retired daughter Jiang Jinzhu believes it is time to delay the retirement age.

However, there is a large group of people in China who have no chance of a comfortable retirement or a nursing home: rural workers who have migrated to the city, estimated at nearly 300 million. Many of these workers, like 70-year-old Ms. Cao, are left alone, picking up trash to make ends meet without a pension.

As China's elderly population continues to grow, many children growing up to care for their parents are feeling overburdened, while the government is scrambling to quickly roll out services for the elderly.