China needs to establish a rural endowment insurance system soon, as 70 percent of its elderly people are living in rural areas and most tend to be "empty nesters," a leading expert said on Saturday. 

Currently, the country has 134 million people aged 60 or above, accounting for 10 percent of the total population. Seventy percent of these elderly live in rural areas. 

Zhang Zaisheng, a professor with the public administrative college under Tianjin University, said at the First International Forum on Social Security held in Beijing, that in the past, elderly in rural areas were taken care of by their children. Farming was also their sole income source. 

"However, with the growing population, rapid urbanization and the development of non-agricultural industries, the per capita occupation of farmland has shrunk sharply. 

"In addition, farmers only had the right to use farmland, but did not own the farmland. It was impossible for the elderly in rural areas to earn a pension by transferring the ownership of farmland. Today, however, the elderly in rural areas can not depend on farmland as income for the rest of their lives," Zhang said. 

In addition, the implementation of family planning policies more than 20 years ago has changed the traditional extended family into smaller families in rural areas. The younger generation in rural areas now seems more eager to work in cities. Therefore, an increasing number of elderly in rural areas tend to be "empty nesters," Zhang added. 

A provincial survey on the living status of the elderly in rural areas, launched by central China's Hubei Province, showed that 27.6 percent of respondents in 170 counties of the province lived alone, up 11.4 percent from 20 years ago. 

The survey also showed that in 2002 each family in rural areas spent 824 yuan (US$101.8) for taking care of the elderly, about 8.5 percent of a family's average annual income. 

Thanks to efforts made by governments at all levels, progress has, however, been made in recent years. Currently, 1,870 counties and cities have started to form rural endowment insurance systems which cover 55 million farmers. More than 1,200 counties and cities have also started to a social security system which covers 44.5 million farmers. 

Zhang, however, said the government should allocate more for the establishment of a rural endowment insurance system. 

He suggested the government should first calculate the basic expenditure for an elderly person in rural areas and then partially pay the endowment insurance for them. To be specific, an elderly person in a rural area would only pay 50 percent of his or her endowment insurance and the government pay the rest.