South China Morning Post
By Luna Sun
- Compared to developed countries grappling with an ageing population, China is not equipped with a comprehensive welfare system
- For many rural residents, including migrant workers, retirement is a fantasy due to limited savings and pension plan coverage
Six days a week for 13 hours a day, 56-year-old Chen Qingling and her husband clean the corridors and bathrooms of an office building in Beijing to feed themselves and their son’s family.
While their wealthier peers spend retirement travelling, taking dance lessons and classes in Chinese tea culture and painting, Chen – who hails from the countryside in Henan province – does not have savings or a pension to live out her golden years in comfort.
