"Afraid to get sick, afraid to spend," how should farmers' pensions be increased?

“I have some money myself, so I don’t have to ask the children for it… Try not to trouble the children.”

During this year’s National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (NPC & CPPCC) session, Huibei delegate Bi Lixia recalled a statement from a 70-year-old rural elderly person during her research, choking up while speaking. She proposed raising the monthly pension for seniors over 70 to 400 yuan and exempting them from resident medical insurance fees.

This year’s NPC & CPPCC sessions saw widespread discussion on “raising farmers’ pensions,” with many delegates proposing related bills, attracting broad social attention.

The so-called farmers’ pension refers to the basic pension for urban and rural residents, mainly covering rural elderly. Official data shows that by the end of 2024, the number of participants in the basic pension for urban and rural residents reached 540 million, with about 180 million receiving benefits—over 90% of whom are rural elderly, totaling around 160 to 170 million people.

Farmers’ pensions consist of a basic pension and a personal account pension. The former is set by the central government with a minimum standard and relies on fiscal support; the latter comes from individual contributions. The 2026 government work report proposed increasing the minimum monthly standard of the basic pension for urban and rural residents by another 20 yuan, from 143 yuan in 2025 to 163 yuan.

However, many delegates pointed out that even with personal contributions included, farmers’ monthly pensions are only a few hundred yuan, barely meeting basic living needs in old age.

It is now widely accepted that farmers’ pensions need to increase. But how much and how to increase remain topics of debate.

Image / Xinhua

The Difficulties of Farmers’ Old Age Support

Lai Maoduan, former Party branch secretary of a village in Wenshang City, Shanxi Province, was elected as a national delegate in 2023. Some elderly farmers have contacted him by phone, text, or in person, hoping he can bring their calls for higher pensions to the national level.

In some areas, elderly rural residents continue working beyond retirement age. Lai’s research found that most rural elderly have only two or three acres of farmland, with a net annual income of just a few hundred yuan per acre. Even in good weather, two or three acres yield only about 2,000 yuan annually. With a monthly pension of over 100 yuan, their total monthly income is just over 300 yuan. They still need to pay for oil, salt, water, electricity, social obligations, and save for illness. To survive, 70- or 80-year-olds have no choice but to keep farming.

National People’s Congress (NPC) deputy and member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Zhang Yi, calculated that the maximum annual income from farming one acre is about 500 yuan, meaning they would need to farm 100 acres to earn a comparable income to urban workers. For elderly people with declining physical strength, this is simply impossible. NPC deputy Guo Qingli also told media that “some farmers over 70 really can’t do farm work anymore and need more support.”

Zhang Yi recalled to China News Weekly that in many rural areas he visited, some elderly northern farmers live frugally, even not lighting fires in winter, just baking a few buns or potatoes on the stove “to get by for a meal.” In a southwestern mountain area, an elderly person wanted to buy a 600-yuan heater but found it too expensive and couldn’t afford it, so they had to visit neighbors’ homes for warmth, sitting for two or three hours.

Medical expenses amplify their sense of insecurity. Bi Lixia’s research found that some rural elderly are reluctant to seek medical treatment when they have a cold or fever, preferring to “tough it out,” as medical costs are a significant burden. Lai Maoduan also found that although coverage of basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents is high, the level of protection remains limited, and farmers face heavy out-of-pocket costs after serious illnesses.

Meanwhile, rural elderly tend to prioritize resources for their children. Zhang Yi summarized that many have spent their lives saving to buy houses or pay for their children’s weddings. However, the rising costs of raising children weaken their ability to support their elders. Additionally, advances in medical care mean many elderly also need to support even older parents. Under multiple pressures, the social security of some rural elderly becomes increasingly fragile.

The Gap

Viewing farmers’ old-age security within the broader social security system reveals an even more significant disparity.

At the China Development Forum 2025, Liu Shijin, former deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said that currently, pensions for urban government and public institution retirees are about 6,000 yuan/month, urban retired workers about 3,000 yuan/month, while farmers’ pensions are only 220 yuan/month.

In terms of pension replacement rates—the ratio of pension income to pre-retirement wages—farmers’ pensions are also very low. The replacement rate indicates how much of their previous income retirees receive. Zhongnan University of Economics and Law professor Zeng Yiqing told China News Weekly that, according to international standards, a replacement rate below 55% is considered low. Currently, rural elderly receive about 2,600 yuan annually, accounting for roughly 12% of the average disposable income of Chinese farmers.

“Long-term, farmers’ pensions have been too low mainly because there is no mechanism to adjust standards,” Zeng Yiqing said. Urban employees’ pension schemes have a built-in adjustment mechanism, with policies stating that pensions should share in the benefits of economic growth and be adjusted according to wage increases. From 2008 to 2015, urban pension benefits grew by 10% annually for seven consecutive years. But farmers’ pensions, from the start, lacked such a mechanism.

In recent years, the basic pension funded by government support has seen faster adjustments and higher increases. Zheng Gongcheng, member of the Standing Committee of the NPC and president of the China Social Security Association, recalled that the basic pension started at 55 yuan per month in 2009 and increased to 103 yuan in 2023—a total increase of only 48 yuan over 14 years. Since 2024, the minimum basic pension has increased by 20 yuan annually, with the current minimum at 163 yuan.

In absolute terms, government spending on farmers’ pensions is substantial. In 2024, the fiscal subsidy for urban and rural residents’ pensions reached 434.5 billion yuan. However, compared to other pension schemes, the level of government investment in farmers’ pensions still shows gaps.

A paper published in March 2024 by doctoral student Chen Danqing, associate professor Yang Sansi, and professor Tang Jianjun from Renmin University of China’s College of Agriculture and Rural Development pointed out that in 2023, the average government subsidy per person for enterprise employees’ pensions was 537 yuan/month, for government and public institution pensions 2,265 yuan/month, and for residents’ pensions only 182.9 yuan/month—less than one-third of enterprise pensions and only one-twelfth of public institution pensions. The authors believe this is the fundamental reason for the low benefits of rural residents’ pensions.

Additionally, the personal account portion of farmers’ pensions is hampered by low contribution willingness, making their pension income mainly dependent on government funding. A 2024 inspection by the NPC Standing Committee found that about 80% of villagers choose the lowest contribution tier for residents’ pension insurance.

Zeng Yiqing said that the government initially hoped to incentivize higher contributions through subsidies, but low income and uncertain earnings led most farmers to choose lower tiers. As a result, after reaching old age, their pensions are mostly composed of basic pensions, which remain low in absolute value.

Image / Visual China

How to Increase

It is now a consensus that farmers’ pensions need to grow. But how much and how to do it?

One approach is to raise farmers’ pensions to the minimum living standard in rural areas. Currently, the low-income standard in many provinces and cities is around 500–600 yuan, which is significantly higher than farmers’ pensions. A 2025 study published in China Rural Observation suggests that if the national basic pension minimum standard is raised to the low-income level and rural pension coverage is fully achieved, the Gini coefficient of rural pension income could be reduced below 0.1, effectively preventing old-age poverty.

Zeng Yiqing estimated that increasing the basic pension for the 180 million beneficiaries to 500 yuan per month would cost the government nearly 540 billion yuan annually. Some oppose this, arguing that if pensions are raised to the low-income standard, the fiscal burden could become unsustainable as the population ages.

Another more operational approach is tiered enhancement, prioritizing higher pensions for the oldest farmers. Lai Maoduan told China News Weekly that considering fiscal capacity, it’s better not to aim for immediate coverage of all farmers over 60 but to focus on those over 70. “This group contributed earlier through grain payments and labor; as they age, their medical and care needs increase, and their pension demand becomes more urgent. Also, their numbers are smaller.”

Lai suggests gradually increasing the basic pension for those over 70 to 500 yuan per month over three years—raising it to 250 yuan in 2027, 380 yuan in 2028, and reaching 500 yuan in 2029.

Zheng Gongcheng proposed a similar idea. He pointed out that the pensions of the oldest farmers are the lowest because they have little or no personal contributions and no personal account pensions, only relying on government-funded basic pensions. He recommends, based on age, to enhance the basic pension and add a “historical contribution pension,” with larger increases for those over 80.

However, from a sustainable development perspective, relying solely on fiscal subsidies for large increases in pensions is unrealistic. Zheng believes that the rural residents’ pension system established in 2009 is a “welfare + insurance” model, with the basic pension fully funded by the government as a welfare benefit. The limited fiscal capacity means that not everyone can rely on government support for old-age security; internal motivation must be stimulated.

He advocates a classified reform approach: for farmers over 70 who have exited the labor market, since they cannot increase pensions through contributions, they should mainly receive welfare-based pensions, with significant increases in basic pensions. For middle-aged farmers, efforts should gradually shift from welfare to social insurance, encouraging voluntary contributions through increased government subsidies and collective economic sharing, restoring the social insurance nature of rural pensions.

By late 2025 to early 2026, multiple regions including Yunnan, Anhui, Guizhou, and Liaoning plan to raise the maximum contribution tier for farmers’ pensions. Yunnan’s maximum contribution will rise to 10,000 yuan/year, becoming the first province with a contribution cap exceeding 10,000 yuan. These measures aim to improve future pension levels.

Zeng Yiqing said current policies encourage middle-aged farmers to increase their contribution tiers, with the idea that paying more now will lead to higher pensions later, even suggesting that farmers could switch to urban employee pension schemes under the guise of individual businesses. Some scholars propose that once the high-age farmers receiving basic pensions naturally decrease, the urban-rural residents’ pension and enterprise employee pension systems could be merged to achieve fairness.

However, practical obstacles remain. For example, in Hubei Province, the minimum contribution for urban employee pension insurance is 9,600 yuan per year. “Unless you’re a courier or delivery rider with relatively stable income, most migrant workers in cities still find that amount burdensome,” Zeng Yiqing said.

Therefore, besides raising the maximum contribution tier for farmers, some scholars suggest lowering the minimum contribution for urban employee pensions to incentivize farmers and flexible workers to participate. Zeng’s team estimates this is feasible, as it could expand coverage, increase fund income, and reduce government subsidies for farmers’ pensions, creating a “water-fish” effect.

Published in China News Weekly, Issue 1228, March 23, 2026

Magazine Title: How to Improve Farmers’ Pensions?

Reporter: Lü Yaxuan

Intern: Wu Huihan

Editor: Xu Tian