Introduction

A major purpose of the development of social security in China since the 1980s has been to address the unmet societal needs caused by the disbanding of the communes and the reconstruction of SOEs. As pointed out by the SC, ‘with the progress of history, the old labour and social security system had become inadaptable to the requirements of economic and social development’ (Information Office of the SC, 2002). Thus, alternative social security arrangements needed to be established for addressing welfare problems in a mixed economy.

In China, social security is a broad concept that incorporates a wide range of social services including: insurance for old age, unemployment, ill health, work-related injuries and maternity, social welfare services, social relief, housing security and rural social security (Information Office of the SC, 2004; see also Zheng, 2002). Some services included in the list are studied in other chapters of this book. This chapter focuses on old age pensions, the Five Guarantees, the MSLS and other support managed by the MCA for poor people including medical, education and housing assistance.

Social security before the economic reforms

As illustrated in Chapter Three, social welfare provision before the economic reforms was centred on communes and SOEs. In rural areas, social assistance was mainly provided by the collective efforts of communes and family members. In 1956, central government published a directive entitled Guidelines for advanced agricultural communes, according to which communes were required to provide Five Guarantees for older people, widows, orphans and disabled people by giving them food, clothes, shelter, medical care, education and funeral services.