Social security payments not changing

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Thursday denied it plans to adjust social security premiums.

"The policies on social security premiums are made by the central government and are strictly implemented nationwide, and they have continuity and stability by nature," ministry spokesman Yin Chengji said at a news conference.

The policies are related to both individuals and enterprises' affordability and workers' interests, and they closely connect with the stability of the country's social security system, he said.

Yin was responding to some experts' recent opinions that China should tweak its social security system by adjusting social security premiums.

Some experts suggest lowering social security premiums because they believe this could help the system cover more people and leave room to boost consumption. Others are calling for higher social security premiums because doing so could help relieve the shortfalls in social security funding.

"Those are personal opinions of experts and they are reasonable to some extent, but serious considerations should be made before any policy adjustment is made," Yin said.

Yin Weimin, the minister of human resources and social security, confirmed at a news conference in March that 13 provinces had pension-fund shortfalls in 2011, and the fiscal budget had provided subsidies of about 180 billion yuan ($28.8 billion) to offset the shortfalls.

China's social security system consists of five types of social insurance: basic endowment, basic medical, unemployment, work injury and maternity.

Workers and employers collectively pay workers' endowment insurance, medical insurance and unemployment insurance, but employers are responsible for employees' work-injury and maternity insurance.

For example, every month, workers pay 8 percent of their wages into the fund for endowment insurance, and employers match that with an amount that is equal to 20 percent of the monthly wages they pay employees.

The endowment insurance covered the country's 449 million affected residents by the end of September, official figures showed.