Pilot program supplements pension system

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission recently announced that four cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan, would be the pilot cities for a houses-for-pensions program for senior citizens beginning July 1.

The aim is to provide citizens with secure and stable incomes after they retire based on the equity in their homes. Houses-for-pensions can provide a financial solution to retirement for those elderly with properties, especially those seniors who have lost their only child.

However, the plan has caused controversy since the idea was introduced in September last year. The main reason for this is the new program seems to pose a challenge to China's traditional retirement lifestyles. In Chinese culture, housing and land are passed on through the family when people die and they are seldom sold off.