Aging Shanghai prepares for a rainy day

Shanghai (CNS) –- By the end of 2011, Shanghai had a population of elderly citizens that had reached 3.48 million aged 60 or above, which means one in four Shanghai residents is now a senior, according to the latest official statistics on Thursday.

The Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau (SCAB), the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics and the Shanghai Municipal Committee on Aging jointly issued the data. It shows the city's elderly population, at 24.5 percent, is higher than the national figure of 13.7 percent.

As parents in the first generation of one child families grow old, they find the tradition of viewing children as a safety net in old age has been shaken to its core, because one couple today neither has enough time or energy to take care of four elderly parents at once.

Gao Lanju, deputy secretary of SCAB, said Shanghai has not even reached its aging peak yet, but will within one or two decades. The local government is now are preparing for these upcoming "rainy days" by taking steps to enhance the social pension system, promoting dining spots for the elderly, and building a friendly neighborhoods that meet their needs.