Unlocking potential of China’s silver economy

Sustained growth in this sector depends on secure incomes, accessible services and opportunities for senior citizens to develop and share their skills

By the end of 2025, China had 323.38 million people aged 60 and above, accounting for 23 percent of its total population, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. That included 223.65 million people aged 65 and above, accounting for 15.9 percent of the total population. The economic implications extend beyond the pressure on pensions, healthcare and long-term care. Senior citizens also form a large consumer group. During the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, stronger social security, and better products and services can help turn potential demand into actual spending. The policies should also support senior citizens who wish to work or share their expertise.

China has made the silver economy part of its national strategy for responding to population aging. The term covers goods and services for senior citizens, along with activities that help people prepare for later life. A 2024 policy issued by the General Office of the State Council links improvements in older people's well-being with new sources of growth. The five-year plan builds on this approach with measures on eldercare, age-friendly products, employment and education. Improving older people's lives should guide social security policies and investment in products and services.

Reliable income underpins demand. At the end of 2025, around 340 million people in China, including retirees under 60, received public pension benefits. China's basic pension schemes paid out more than 7 trillion yuan ($1.04 trillion) in pensions that year. A regular pension helps households plan everyday expenses and longer-term spending. Demand for home improvements, travel, learning and health services creates opportunities for enterprises. Purchasing power varies, however. Growth in spending will depend partly on adequate income protection and products and services that older people can afford.

Sharing the financial risks of long-term care through insurance helps protect household budgets when people need help with daily activities. About 1.93 million people received long-term care insurance benefits in China in 2025. A 2026 implementation plan sets out funding and benefit rules and aims to establish the basic framework for a separate social insurance scheme within about three years. As coverage expands, families will need clear information about covered services, benefit limits and their own costs. Germany's statutory long-term care insurance offers a useful comparison. It covers part of care costs, with benefits based on assessed needs, and provides grants for qualifying home adaptations. Clear benefit rules help families plan care and providers organize services.

Alongside insurance, targeted public support can help families pay for suitable products and services. Between 2021 and 2025, China supported home adaptations, such as installing grab bars, for 2.24 million households with senior citizens. In 2025, home adaptation subsidies supported sales of 7.21 million age-friendly products. Following pilots in 2025, a care subsidy program was rolled out for additional cities in 2026. Eligible senior citizens assessed as having moderate or greater limitations in daily functioning can use electronic vouchers to offset part of the cost of approved care services at home, in community settings or in care facilities. For long-term care insurance recipients, the vouchers apply to eligible costs remaining after insurance payments. This can make care more affordable.

Turning this purchasing power into growth also depends on what businesses can supply. The five-year plan calls for exploring certification for silver economy products, while the 2024 policy proposes industrial parks for the sector in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Yangtze River Delta regions among others. Certification backed by safety standards and testing can help consumers judge quality. Common standards and fair market access can reduce barriers between regions, allowing companies to spread research and development costs over a larger market. For age-friendly equipment, fitting, installation and repair depend on local service networks. These services must reach households, including those in rural areas, for users to benefit from larger-scale production.

Better services can also help older people remain independent and take part in society. In 2025, around 146 million people aged 65 and above received free health management services, including health assessments, checkups and advice, through primary care facilities under China's basic public health service program. Hearing and mobility aids can complement such services by helping people communicate, move around and learn. These services and assistive products can make it easier for senior citizens to work or take part in community life if they wish and are able.

Under China's National Silver Age Teacher Action Plan, eligible retired employees with practical industry experience can teach vocational subjects and guide practical training after screening and training. The plan calls for funding and practical support. Their experience can help students and trainees develop practical skills and professional judgment.

Keeping that expertise in use also requires work suited to individual abilities and health. The OECD's Employment Outlook 2025 stresses AI's potential for reducing physical workloads, improving safety and helping adapt work to older workers' needs. In consulting and training, AI tools could process information while experienced practitioners exercise professional judgment. Digital tools could also help turn practitioners' explanations of difficult decisions into teaching material, subject to professional review. These uses need to be tested in workplaces, with respect for individual preferences and retirement choices.

Sustained growth in the silver economy depends on secure incomes, accessible services and opportunities for senior citizens to develop and share their skills. This requires sustainable funding for pensions and care, and businesses that offer products and services that older people can afford and use. Its success should be measured by greater independence in daily life, confidence to spend and genuine choice over whether and how to work, learn or mentor younger workers. China's experience contributes to a shared search among aging societies for institutions that improve security in later life and keep accumulated knowledge and skills in productive use.

The author is an associate researcher at the Institute of Population and Labor Economics, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.