Appeals highlight a long-standing lack of benefits for elderly citizens outside cities, and proposals include leveraging state assets and new taxes to bridge the vast disparity
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenXinyi Wuin BeijingPublished: 8:00am, 13 Mar 2026Some Chinese lawmakers and advisers are pushing to secure higher pensions for elderly farmers, underscoring the persistent income disparity between the country’s urban and rural residents.
“A pension of just over 100 yuan each month is really, really difficult” to live on, said Bi Lixia, a deputy of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, who urged the government to raise the monthly minimum to 400 yuan for rural residents aged 70 or older.
Another deputy, Lei Maoduan, called for the basic pension for elderly farmers to be raised to 500 yuan over the next three years. He argued that, while farmers’ contributions to the nation’s social security scheme may be relatively small, they have made significant contributions to society through their labour and agricultural production.
Why China's elderly farmers can't afford to retire
Why China's elderly farmers can't afford to retireWhile Beijing sees rural spending as a means to help drive China’s shift towards a consumption-led growth model, many in the countryside struggle to afford basic living costs.
