China raises pensions for veterans

BEIJING - China will increase allowances for disabled soldiers, families of fallen soldiers and veterans of the Red Army, authorities said on Monday.

The new pension plan takes effect from Oct 1, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Finance said in a joint statement.

For the disabled, including soldiers, police, civil servants and militia members, their pensions will be raised 20 percent from previously.

The same increase will go to family members of fallen soldiers in urban areas and veterans of the Red Army (the military forces of the Communist Party of China 1927-1937).

According to the new standard, the annual pension for each person of the bereaved families living in urban areas will be raised to 16,630 yuan (2,702 US dollars) while those living in rural areas will receive 11,160 yuan each year, a 40 percent increase from previously.

The adjustment, the 21st of its kind for disabled soldiers since 1978, means the central government will pay an additional 1.57 billion yuan this year.

The central government allocated 30.6 billion yuan in allowances for disabled soldiers, bereaved families, and ex-Red Army soldiers in 2014, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs.