How to cope with an aging society

The Danish delegation visited the Golden Heights, a high-end assisted-living community in Beijing where fees are more than 10,000 yuan ($1,630) a month. Most of its residents are retired government employees with welfare benefits, so they have few financial concerns.

Krag was impressed by Golden Heights. She says that in Denmark most people unable to afford such accommodation get financial support from the government.

The aim is to keep the aged out of institutions as long as possible, with the emphasis being placed on family-oriented care, as in China.

"It's good for the elderly if they can stay in their own home and control their own lives. And it's cheaper for us."

The Danish health ministry has trained carers to help single older people in their homes, for example, with housework.

"If the elderly are too weak to live by themselves, we have the aged-care institutions to which you can bring your own furniture and make your own garden," Krag says. "We want them to feel like they are living at home, but with a better social life."

Danish social welfare emphasizes tax and finance. The feeling is that the aged have worked and paid taxes for a long time, so the government can cover them in the later stages of their lives, Krag says.

Krag is proud that Danish people are willing to pay a high percentage of their salaries as tax, in return for a good social welfare system that includes free education, free medical care and good aged-care services.

"But if you don't have a tax-finance system to support every elderly person, I guess it's important for governments and families to work together. It's important to make sure that it is not only the people with the most money who have access to a social welfare system in the country."

Based on the Danish experience, it is also important to have specially trained people and more public facilities for aged care, Krag says.