The Meizhou Municipal People's Government Office has issued a notice regarding the adjustment of care and nursing standards for the city's impoverished residents, specifying new rates and implementation timelines.
The notice was issued to all county-level governments, administrative committees, municipal departments, and central and provincial units stationed in Meizhou.
The adjustment is based on the Social Assistance Law of the People's Republic of China, the Interim Measures for Social Assistance, the Guangdong Province Social Assistance Regulations, and the Guangdong Provincial People's Government Notice on Adjusting the Minimum Wage Standards of the Province (Yue Fu Han No. 188 of 2026), among other regulations.
Under the new standards, effective from September 1, 2026, residents classified as fully self-sufficient will receive a monthly care allowance of 41 yuan per person for both dispersed and centralized care.
For those classified as semi-self-sufficient or partially disabled, the monthly allowance for dispersed care is set at 612 yuan per person, while centralized care is set at 1,224 yuan per person.
For those classified as fully disabled or requiring full nursing care, the monthly allowance for dispersed care is 1,224 yuan per person, and for centralized care it is 2,448 yuan per person.
The finance department is tasked with ensuring adequate funding. The funds required for care and nursing of impoverished residents will be coordinated from the assistance and subsidy funds for people in difficulty, and care and nursing fees must be disbursed before the 20th of each month.
The civil affairs department is required to regularly monitor the disbursement of care fees, fund usage management, and care service delivery within its jurisdiction, ensuring that impoverished residents have daily support, medical care when ill, safety monitoring, and protection of their rights.
Various promotional channels including television, radio, newspapers, and new media should be fully utilized to publicize the care and nursing system for impoverished residents and encourage society to care for them.
Policy lists and happiness lists should be used to communicate and explain the policies, ensuring that impoverished residents and their caregivers are aware of the new standards. Public complaints and suggestions must be handled promptly with proper policy explanations to continuously enhance the sense of gain, happiness, and security of impoverished residents.
The care and nursing standards are adjusted in accordance with the minimum wage standards announced by the provincial government, and care agreements must be renewed accordingly.
All counties and districts must retroactively pay the increased care and nursing fees for the period from September 1, 2026, when the new minimum wage standards took effect, to the implementation date of this notice.
The notice takes effect from December 1, 2026, and is valid for five years. The previous notice issued by the Meizhou Municipal People's Government Office on adjusting care and nursing standards for impoverished residents (Mei Shi Fu Ban No. 2 of 2025) is simultaneously abolished.
The notice was issued by the Meizhou Municipal People's Government Office on October 29, 2026.
Policy Interpretation
The adjustment is based on the Social Assistance Law, the Interim Measures for Social Assistance, the Guangdong Province Social Assistance Regulations, and the provincial minimum wage adjustment notice. It aligns with Meizhou's actual conditions and was approved by the municipal government.
The adjustment is primarily driven by the increase in Meizhou's minimum wage to 2,040 yuan per month, requiring a corresponding increase in care and nursing standards to safeguard basic living and care needs. Funding is coordinated from assistance and subsidy funds for people in difficulty to ensure policy sustainability.
The objectives are to protect the rights of impoverished residents by ensuring those who are disabled or partially disabled receive care matching their needs, to achieve linkage between care standards and minimum wage standards reflecting social fairness, and to standardize fund disbursement procedures and enhance the professional and institutional level of care services.
The scope covers all individuals in Meizhou included in the assistance and support system for impoverished residents, including both dispersed and centralized care, with subsidies provided according to self-care ability tiers.
The care standards are adjusted from September 1, 2026, take effect from December 1, 2026, and are valid for five years.
The specific standards are as follows: fully self-sufficient individuals receive 41 yuan per month for both dispersed and centralized care; semi-self-sufficient or partially disabled individuals receive 612 yuan per month for dispersed care and 1,224 yuan per month for centralized care; fully disabled individuals receive 1,224 yuan per month for dispersed care and 2,448 yuan per month for centralized care.
Regarding funding and disbursement, the finance department ensures funding from assistance and subsidy funds for people in difficulty. Payments must be completed before the 20th of each month. For dispersed care, funds are paid to the caregiver's account, while for centralized care, funds are paid to the service institution's account.
For policy transition, retroactive payments must be made by all counties and districts for the increased care fees from September 1, 2026, to the implementation date. Care agreements must be renewed, and the old document (Mei Shi Fu Ban No. 2 of 2025) is abolished.
Differences Between Old and New Policies
The old policy was based on the 2025 minimum wage standard of 1,750 yuan per month for fourth-tier regions, while the new policy is based on the 2026 minimum wage standard of 2,040 yuan per month for third-tier regions.
For fully self-sufficient individuals, both dispersed and centralized care see an increase of 6 yuan per person.
For semi-self-sufficient or partially disabled individuals, dispersed care increases by 87 yuan per person, and centralized care increases by 174 yuan per person.
For fully disabled individuals, dispersed care increases by 174 yuan per person, and centralized care increases by 348 yuan per person.
Measures Benefiting Enterprises and Residents
The adjustment of care and nursing standards is not only a necessary step to implement higher-level policies but also a series of practical measures aimed at benefiting specific groups, optimizing service supply, and creating market opportunities.
In terms of benefiting residents, the new standards linked to minimum wage increases directly raise the care and nursing subsidies for impoverished residents, effectively alleviating economic pressure caused by rising prices and care costs, and genuinely improving their quality of life. The policy explicitly provides for retroactive payments from September 1, 2026, to the implementation date, ensuring that impoverished residents fully enjoy the policy benefits from the date of the minimum wage increase, reflecting fairness and full protection of vulnerable groups' rights.
In terms of benefiting enterprises, the policy encourages qualified regions to provide care services for dispersed impoverished residents through qualified third parties, creating a government procurement service market for local professional elderly care enterprises and social organizations, helping to cultivate and strengthen the local elderly care and nursing industry.
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