Seniors embracing end-of-life planning

Aging population

According to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, China was home to more than 22 million registered residents age 60 and older in 2015, accounting for more than 16 percent of the population. Moreover, more than 143 million people were age 65 and older, 10.5 percent of the total.

However, despite being faced with a large, promising market, the country's funeral and burial industry is still stuck at a point where supply cannot meet demand, Xing said.

"Most services lack strict management of sufficient infrastructure, strict regulation and fair pricing. The practitioners are usually individuals, and the choice of products offered to customers is limited," he added.

"The national provisions should be reformed to standardize and supervise the related services."

Zhao Yu, manager of Fu Shou Yuan's business division, said ensuring security of capital is a tough challenge.

"At Fu Shou Yuan, the revenue from contract services is held separately in the accounts of each branch in different cities," he said.

"To leverage its security, the company will create a unified, managed account especially for preneed funeral and burial contracts at the headquarters in Shanghai. We will also cooperate with trust institutions and banks to provide standardized management and supervision."

Wang Hongjie, vice-president of the China Funeral Federation, has been quoted in thepaper.com as saying promotion and publicity related to the preneed service is crucial for the industry's growth.

In 2011, for example, the Shanghai Funeral and Interment Service Center launched a preneed service contract program for elderly people in the city who have no children to take care of them, but only about 10 people have signed the contracts.

"The public is still the key factor to promoting this kind of service," Wang said.