Songyang, Zhejiang: solving the village retirement problem by trading homesteads for old-age support
Original, GPIG, 03-30-2018
In the spacious apartment for seniors in Wutongkou Village, Chishou Township, Songyang County, Zhejiang Province, Ye Meiyun, Fu Aidingand 11 other elderly people were watching TV. A few days ago, those impoverished elderly people living alone had said farewell to their wet and shabby centennial houses and happily moved into the senior apartment in their village. Ye Meiyun, a 67-year-old lady, said that, “It is a good way to trade homesteads for old-age support! It feels like I have found a new son and my old-age support problem is ultimately solved.”
In the process of old village reconstruction, Songyang County government found that 15,300 people out of the 37,870 left-behind elderly were old and sick. Without children to take care of them, their later life remains a problem, let alone building a new house. As the protection ratio of the basic farmland is a s high as 93.7 percent, the approval for transforming farmland into construction land is difficult to get. As it is difficult to adjust rural homesteads, farmers’ housing also becomes a prominent problem. Therefore, to solve the problem of providing for the aged, Songyang County explored and implemented the working method of trading homesteads for old-age support.
Zhu Jifa, an 84-year-old man in Wutongkou Village, had lived in his old house for long. Since it hadn’t been repaired for many years, the wooded piles and beam of the low and damp house had been damaged by worms. Once a typhoon or torrential rainstorms come, the old man would worry a lot, for the fear that the house may collapse. Zhu gave his house to the village, and the village in return gave him 20,000 yuan as a subsistence allowance and allowed him to live for free in a 32 m2 apartment.
According to Weng Xinbao, Party branch secretary of Wutongkou Village, the village invested more than 300,000 yuan to build 18 sets of apartments. Except for one being used as an activity room, the other 17 were provided for the lonely elderly people and impoverished elderly people to live in for free.
Ye Meiyun from Longxia Village said that she got 16,000 yuan when giving her old house to the village. With the money, her old age was no longer a problem. Besides, she could plant some vegetables and fruits in her private plots and sell them after harvest, and help others pick tea-leaves as well. By doing these, her later life would have adequate security. Moreover, she could live in the apartment all the time till death. The method of trading homesteads for old-age support resolved her worries.
Trading homesteads for old-age support means that the lonely, poor and left-behind elderly people gave their homesteads to the village and the village in return will give them some subsidies, with 85 yuan to 200 yuan per square meter. The property rights of the apartment belong to the village collective, and the elder people enjoy residence rights of the apartment for free for the remainder of their lives.
In July 2008, this method was first implemented in Wutongkou Village, Longxia Village, Zezishan Village, Honglian Village, Chishou Town, Songyang County. In 2009, the four villages allocated the newly built apartments to 300 impoverished elderly people so that they could enjoy a happy old age.
At present, the method of “trading homesteads for old-age support” were implemented in all rural areas in Songyang. In Gushi, Xinxing and other villages and townships, more than ten blocks of senior apartments were built.
At the end of 2009, the judging panel of the Chinese Local Governance Innovations Awards reviewed the achievements of the Songyang’s trading homesteads for old-age support program. After the primary election, this program was incorporated in the 30 finalists of the 5th Chinese Local Governance Innovations Awards.
Original, GPIG, 03-30-2018
In the spacious apartment for seniors in Wutongkou Village, Chishou Township, Songyang County, Zhejiang Province, Ye Meiyun, Fu Aidingand 11 other elderly people were watching TV. A few days ago, those impoverished elderly people living alone had said farewell to their wet and shabby centennial houses and happily moved into the senior apartment in their village. Ye Meiyun, a 67-year-old lady, said that, “It is a good way to trade homesteads for old-age support! It feels like I have found a new son and my old-age support problem is ultimately solved.”
In the process of old village reconstruction, Songyang County government found that 15,300 people out of the 37,870 left-behind elderly were old and sick. Without children to take care of them, their later life remains a problem, let alone building a new house. As the protection ratio of the basic farmland is a s high as 93.7 percent, the approval for transforming farmland into construction land is difficult to get. As it is difficult to adjust rural homesteads, farmers’ housing also becomes a prominent problem. Therefore, to solve the problem of providing for the aged, Songyang County explored and implemented the working method of trading homesteads for old-age support.
Zhu Jifa, an 84-year-old man in Wutongkou Village, had lived in his old house for long. Since it hadn’t been repaired for many years, the wooded piles and beam of the low and damp house had been damaged by worms. Once a typhoon or torrential rainstorms come, the old man would worry a lot, for the fear that the house may collapse. Zhu gave his house to the village, and the village in return gave him 20,000 yuan as a subsistence allowance and allowed him to live for free in a 32 m2 apartment.
According to Weng Xinbao, Party branch secretary of Wutongkou Village, the village invested more than 300,000 yuan to build 18 sets of apartments. Except for one being used as an activity room, the other 17 were provided for the lonely elderly people and impoverished elderly people to live in for free.
Ye Meiyun from Longxia Village said that she got 16,000 yuan when giving her old house to the village. With the money, her old age was no longer a problem. Besides, she could plant some vegetables and fruits in her private plots and sell them after harvest, and help others pick tea-leaves as well. By doing these, her later life would have adequate security. Moreover, she could live in the apartment all the time till death. The method of trading homesteads for old-age support resolved her worries.
Trading homesteads for old-age support means that the lonely, poor and left-behind elderly people gave their homesteads to the village and the village in return will give them some subsidies, with 85 yuan to 200 yuan per square meter. The property rights of the apartment belong to the village collective, and the elder people enjoy residence rights of the apartment for free for the remainder of their lives.
In July 2008, this method was first implemented in Wutongkou Village, Longxia Village, Zezishan Village, Honglian Village, Chishou Town, Songyang County. In 2009, the four villages allocated the newly built apartments to 300 impoverished elderly people so that they could enjoy a happy old age.
At present, the method of “trading homesteads for old-age support” were implemented in all rural areas in Songyang. In Gushi, Xinxing and other villages and townships, more than ten blocks of senior apartments were built.
At the end of 2009, the judging panel of the Chinese Local Governance Innovations Awards reviewed the achievements of the Songyang’s trading homesteads for old-age support program. After the primary election, this program was incorporated in the 30 finalists of the 5th Chinese Local Governance Innovations Awards.
