Basic Old Age Pension Insurance Scheme for Employees | Max-Planck-Institut für Sozialrecht und Sozialpolitik - MPISOC
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People's Republic of China

Basic Old Age Pension Insurance Scheme for Employees

职工基本养老保险

1 An enterprise employee is not legally defined in Chinese social law. In practice, it refers to any person who has a ‘labour relationship’ (劳动关系) with an employer.

2 According to the legal definition of § 54 Para. 1 Civil Code PRC, an individual industrial and commercial household is a natural person conducting industrial and commercial operations upon registration in accordance with the law.

3 Since 01/05/2019 the contribution rate of the employer can be reduced to 16%; provinces with employers’ contribution rates below 16% must also propose transitional measures to reduce the financial burden of the employer. The adjustment of the contribution rate or the transition plan shall be reported to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance for record.

4 The division of cadres (干部) and workers (工人) was initially used for the internal management of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and continues to be used in some public institutions in China. At present, there are three main ways to obtain cadre status: (1) passing the entrance examinations of secondary or higher educational institutions, (2) passing public examinations of all levels of government to be hired, or (3) being promoted in the army to a position above platoon leader.

5 Persons who had participated in the scheme before the entry-into-force of the Social Insurance Law (01/07/2011) may pay contributions on a lump sum basis to attain 15 years insurance if they have been continuously paying contributions for 5 years after reaching the statutory retirement age.

6 The ‘number of months of payment’ for different retirement ages is now specified in a table formulated by the State Council.

Legal Basis: Social Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国社会保险法); Individual Income Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国个人所得税法); Regulation on the Implementation of the Enterprise Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国企业所得税法实施条例); Several Provisions on Implementing the Social Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China (实施《中华人民共和国社会保险法》若干规定); Decision of the State Council on Establishing a Unified Basic Old Age Pension Insurance System for Enterprise Employees (国务院关于建立统一的企业职工基本养老保险制度的决定), 国发[1997]26; Decision of the State Council on Improving the Basic Old Age Pension Insurance System for Enterprise Employees (国务院关于完善企业职工基本养老保险制度的决定), 国发[2005]38; Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Labour on Printing and Distributing the ‘ Interim Measures for the Administration of Individual Accounts for Basic Old Age Pension Insurance for Employees’ (劳动部办公厅关于印发《职工基本养老保险个人帐户管理暂行办法》的通知), 劳办发[1997]116; Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the Comprehensive Plan of Reducing Social Insurance Contribution Rates (国务院办公厅关于印发降低社会保险费率综合方案的通知), 国办发[2019]13; Interim Measures of the State Council on the Retirement and Resignation of Workers (国务院关于工人退休、退职的暂行办法), 国发[1978]104; Interim Measures of the State Council on the Placement of Old, Weak, Sick and Disabled Cadres (国务院关于安置老弱病残干部的暂行办法), 24/05/1978.