Elderly monks, nuns in Tibet get pensions

All monks and nuns aged over 60 in the Tibet autonomous region will get a basic pension allowance from this year as local authorities aim to improve their quality of life.

Thirty-seven monks at a major monastery in the regional capital Lhasa received the pension on Monday, an official with the city's human resources and social security bureau said.

It's the first time in the 1,300-year history of Tibetan Buddhism that its clergies have been given a pension allowance from local government, said Doje Namgyai, head of the bureau's rural insurance department.

Each clergy member aged over 60 can now get a basic pension of 120 yuan ($19) per month without having to pay any premiums, said Doje Namgyai. The amount is more than double the 55 yuan paid monthly to senior citizens in rural areas.

"We used to live only on the temple's earnings and believers' donations. But now, with the pension allowance, our life can be better," said Changchub, an elderly monk at the Sera Monastery. "This has never happened before. It can help to get rid of the worries about livelihood among elderly clergy."

Around 1,900 monks and nuns across the region will receive the basic pension this year, according to Lhasa's human resources and social security bureau.

Younger monks and nuns are also covered by the pension insurance program. They can choose to pay from 100 to 3,000 yuan a year into their pension accounts. After they turn 60, and providing they have paid the premiums for 15 years or more, they can get 134 to 452 yuan a month as a basic pension, plus interest from their pension accounts.

The civil affairs authorities also plan to expand the minimum subsistence allowance program to cover all monks and nuns in the Tibet autonomous region.

"The minimum living wage for Tibetan clergy members is 400 yuan a month. If their monastery's earnings fell short of the standard, the government will make up the difference," said Lhagba Khyungten, an official with the regional bureau of civil affairs.

Monks and nuns are also covered by government-subsidized medical insurance, with local health authorities paying up to 85 percent of their medical costs.

"The three insurances help to solve the clergy members actual difficulties and relieve their heavy life burden," said Soinam Rinje, executive deputy director of the regional work department.

From Chinadaily