1.07 billion people in basic pension scheme

China has been improving its social insurance system to better support development, with the number of participants in the basic pension reaching 1.07 billion by the end of March, a year-on-year increase of 14 million, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said.

There were 240 million participants in the unemployment insurance scheme, up 4.49 million, and 290 million participants in the employment injury insurance scheme, up 5.58 million.

From January to March, the total income of the basic pension, unemployment and employment injury insurance schemes was 2.2 trillion yuan ($303.9 billion), while total expenditure was 1.8 trillion yuan. The cumulative surplus by the end of March was 8.6 trillion yuan.

In the first quarter, local authorities implementing basic pension insurance assistance policies for urban and rural residents paid premiums for 8.21 million low-income residents, including those at risk of slipping back into poverty, the severely disabled and other disadvantaged groups, the ministry said.

Unemployment insurance benefits, including unemployment insurance and payment of basic medical insurance premiums, amounted to 28.2 billion yuan in the first three months of the year, it said.

By the end of March, the number of people insured in the pilot program for occupational injury protection for the flexibly employed, including delivery workers, had reached 8 million.

In 2022, the ministry and other departments launched pilot programs for occupational injury protection for the flexibly employed in seven provincial-level regions — including Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu province — that covered seven large platform enterprises.

Li Xinwang, director of the ministry's Labor Relations Department, told a recent news conference that the ministry will expand the scope of the pilot program to incorporate more flexibly employed people.

At the same time, it will actively facilitate channels for the flexibly employed to participate in pension insurance in their place of employment and make it more convenient for them to participate in insurance schemes.

By 2025, China's basic pension insurance coverage is expected to reach 95 percent, according to a five-year plan released earlier.

The ministry said it will further improve policies supporting the pension system and prepare for their comprehensive implementation.