农村独居老人社会救助：从“兜底”到“赋能”

Social Assistance for Rural Elderly Living Alone: From “Safety-Net” to “Empowerment”

摘要: 人口老龄化与城乡转型加剧了农村独居老人保障困境。以低保、特困供养为核心的兜底救助偏重现金补贴，无法满足老人照料、健康、精神慰藉等多元需求，制度亟需由“兜底”转向“赋能”。本文剖析农村独居老人生存现状与现有救助体系结构性短板，结合分层分类救助与赋能理论，构建兜底保障、赋能发展、包容融入三层救助框架，探索“物质 + 服务”协同、兼顾能力、机会与内生动力的救助改革路径，为优化农村养老保障、促进共同富裕提供理论与政策参考。

Abstract: Driven by population aging and urban-rural transformation, rural elderly living alone face severe security challenges. Current safety-net assistance centered on minimum living guarantees and special hardship support mainly relies on cash transfers, failing to satisfy seniors compound demands for healthcare, daily care and spiritual comfort, which calls for a system shift from basic security to empowerment. This paper analyzes the living conditions of rural solitary elderly and structural defects of existing assistance policies. Based on the tiered categorized assistance and empowerment theory, it establishes a three-tier system including basic safety support, capacity development and inclusive integration, and proposes reform routes combining material supplies and public services while focusing on capacity, opportunities and motivation, so as to offer theoretical and policy references for improving rural elderly security and advancing common prosperity.