Chinese Pension Data Shows Expenditures Rising Faster Than Revenues

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China’s Ministry of Housing Resources and Social Services has just released its latest set of data on pensions and other forms of social welfare.

According to data published by MOHRSS the average monthly aged care pension for both rural and urban residents in China as of the end of 2016 was 117 yuan ($17.05)

The figure was far higher for retired company workers, who enjoyed an average basic pension of 2362 yuan (USD$344.26) per month in 2016, for an impressive gain compared to the figure of 1686 yuan ($245.72) for 2012.

The rapid ageing of China’s demographic structure is causing increasing concern amongst policymakers, due to its potential impacts upon economic growth and the burden it might place upon the next generation of workers.

While MOHRSS data indicates that at present China’s pension system continues to enjoy a sizeable surplus of nearly 4 trillion yuan, expenditures are rising at a far more rapid clip than revenues.

Professional aged care insurance funds drew total revenue of 3.51 trillion yuan in 2016, for a year-on-year rise of 19.5%, while total expenditures were 3.19 trillion yuan, for a year-on-yea rise of 23.4%.

The surplus for 2016 was 320 billion yuan, while the total surplus was 3.86 trillion yuan.

The average monthly unemployment benefit for China in 2016 was 1051 yuan, as compared to 686 yuan in 2012, for an average rise of 11.3% per annum.

The one-timecompensation sum paid for workplace death in 2016 was 624,000 yuan, as compared to 188,000 yuan in 2012, for an average rise of 9.4% per annum.