More Rich Chinese People Would Rather Put Their Parents in Nursing Homes Than Take Care of Them

A new report, released by Hurun on retirement planning for China’s elderly, revealed that the preference of China’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) for luxury living communities for seniors has increased significantly by 87% in 2015.

This year, 28% of wealthy Chinese have included “medium- to high-end elderly care homes” into their personal post-retirement plan. The result is a major climb from 15% of HNWIs wanting to do the same in 2015. Those who preferred “home retirement” have dropped from 77% in 2015 to 57% in 2016.

More younger rich Chinese are also veering away from having their own children take care of them when they get old. The study revealed that 39% of the wealthy individuals in China under 35 years old have expressed interest in luxury nursing homes and similar communities, compared to 17% who admitted to the same last year.

The report observed that parents may have become increasingly concerned of having to place a huge responsibility on only children born and raised under China’s recently repealed One Child Policy. Previous studies have highlighted the need for such transition as the “one child per family” policy has posed a significant challenge for caring for older Chinese.

The unprecedented volume of Chinese senior citizens brought about by the policy is expected to place enormous strains on the social security system, medical insurance, luxury nursing homes, caring institutions, and nursing education in China.

The researchers also believe that the Confucian filial obligation of caring for elderly parents, widely practiced in China and many other Asian countries, may be becoming less popular among the growing rich Chinese. China’s newly wealthy generation seem to be looking forward into living independently which mostly includes a lot of travelling.