Pei Xiaomei, Ph.D Tsinghua University Gerontology Center Beijing, P. R. China

1. Economically Involved, Socially Excluded:The Case of Old Age Survivors in Transitional China Pei Xiaomei, Ph.D Tsinghua University Gerontology Center Beijing, P. R. China

2. Gender Difference in Old Aged Security Male Female ------------------------------------------------------------------ Pension Coverage 87% 55.1% ------------------------------------------------------------------ Average Monthly Income (RMB) 745.7 528.6 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Med. Insurance 72.9% 49.8% Source: ChinaResearch Center on Ageing, Data analysis of the Sampling of Survey of the Aged Population in China,2003.

3. Gender Difference in Income among Urban Elderly Monthly income aged women aged men ____________________________________________________ No income 7.4% 19.6% Less than 100 1.5 5.2 100-199 36.1 10.4 1000+ 34.6 12.7 _____________________________________________________ Source: China Research Center on Ageing, Data analysis of the Sampling of Survey of the Aged Population in China,2003.

4. The Questions • Among urban aged in China, women are much more likely to be excluded from the social security programs than men. Who are these women? • As women’s labor participation rate has been high (78.3%) , why some of them are not qualified for pension benefits? • Some women are economically employed but socially excluded, what happened that drove them into this disadvantageous reality?

5. Methods • By interviewing 26 old age survivors aged ranging from 54 to 91 in two cities in China about their living conditions and life histories, we generated some valuable information about the life trajectories of these old women and how their life experience is shaped by the market and state.

6. Informal Employment and No Pension • More than half of the group was found to have a history of being employed for paid work. • Some of them had been in and out of labor market frequently in informal positions for family responsibilities or as low-cost reserved labor force and was kept away from a status of retiree and access to social security income.

7. Gender Difference by Type of Employment Employment Type Male (%) Female (%) ____________________________________________________ Formal Employment 59.8 47.8 Informal Employment 40.2 52.2 __________________________________________________ Total 100% 100% __________________________________________________ Source: National Survey on women’s Status by China Women’s Federation, 2000.

8. Gender Difference in Social Security Coverage by Types of Employment Employment covered by pension covered by med. Ins. (%) (%) Type ---------------------------------------------------- male female male female ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Formal 84.7 81.3 73.9 65.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Informal 14.8 10.4 14.4 9.0 ____________________________________________________ Source: National Survey on women’s Status by China Women’s Federation, 2000.

9. The Myth of Family Support • The assumption of the availability of family support for those elderly persons who are excluded from current social security programs often serves as a political excuse for not including old age survivors into the old age security. • It is reasonable to question the effectiveness of this traditional system to address the contemporary needs of the aged Chinese.

10. Composition of Financial Support for the Urban Chinese Aged (%) Female Male ____________________________________________________ Pension 61.32 67.23 Family 13.06 4.58 Social Insurance 8.75 8.31 Paid Economic Activities 12.39 16.19 Poverty Relief 0.19 0.68 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Feeling of financially unsafe 31.6% 17.2% ____________________________________________________ Source: China Research Center on Ageing, Data analysis of the Sampling of Survey of the Aged Population in China,2003.

11. The Role of the State in Constructing the Lives of the Old Age Survivors The status of these old age survivors are both historically and socially constructed. From a life course perspective, the difficult conditions into which they fall should be viewed as a consequence of a process of disadvantage accumulation. One could find a pattern of systematically disadvantaged over their life course.

12. Accumulation of Institutional Disadvantage • The division of labor under the state socialism • Old age security in the form of corporation welfare • The pension reform during the economic transition

13. Conclusion • The disadvantaged condition of many old age survivors at present has been shaped and perpetuated by the state policies at various stages of their lives. • As China is typical of a state dominant society, a fundamental improvement of the lives of the aged survivors is also expected through the change of the state policies from relief provision to entitlement provision.

14. Thank you !