October 2019

Chinese government uses facial recognition app to pay out pensions

A facial recognition app, Laolai.com, is being used by China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, to ascertain pension payouts and avoid fraud. Read also US senator plans Bill to block Federal Pensions investing in China The Laolai mobile app is designed to enable elderly citizens to prove their identity in order to receive social security benefits. Some 250 million retirees now use the app, which was developed into an online platform for a wide range of services for...

China’s Ministry of Finance transfers more assets to boost pension system

China’s Ministry of Finance is continuing its efforts to boost the country’s creaking pension system by transferring its stakes in financial state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to the social security fund, reported Caixin. Hong Kong- and Shanghai-listed Bank of Communications Co. Ltd., one of China’s five largest state-owned banks by assets, announced that the finance ministry will transfer 10% of its shares in the bank to the government-backed National Council for Social Security Fund. The shares were worth RMB 10.7 billion...

September 2019

The Development of Social Security in China

 By Gao Zexin, Mario Arturo Ruiz Estrada, Aslam Mohamed, Minsoo Lee Over the past 60 years, the social security system has continued to advance with the development of the economy. Especially since China’s Reform and Opening-up, the role and status of social security have become more and more prominent. With the evolution of value concepts and the transformation of the system interacted with each other, China's social security has embarked on a complicated track of establishing and reform. In...

China’s workforce saving more for retirement amid concerns about state pension, survey finds

China should not be alarmed by a much slower economic growth rate in the coming years, perhaps as low as 5 or even 4 per cent, with the economy now large enough to still create sufficient jobs at these growth rates, according to three prominent Chinese economists who advise the government. The headline gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate slowed to 6.2 per cent in the second quarter this year, the lowest figure since quarterly records began in March...

August 2019

Why is Inequality Higher Among the Old? Evidence from China

By Katja Hanewald, Ruo Jia, Zining Liu This paper studies income inequality in old age and its development over the life cycle. We develop a theoretical framework and a new empirical method to show that income is more unequally distributed in old age than in working age. We combine the regression-based inequality decomposition method and the three-step mediating effect test to analyze the transmission of income inequality from initial socioeconomic differences to income inequality in old age. Our study...

Senators Demand U.S. Pension Fund Reject China Investment

Two senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are calling on administrators of the federal government’s main retirement savings fund to reverse a decision that they say would shift billions in investments into Chinese companies supporting that nation’s military and espionage efforts. Read also US. Blame The Fed For The Coming Pension Fund Crisis Senators Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, and Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, sent a letter Monday to Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board Chairman Michael...

July 2019

China to further raise pension benefits for retired soldiers

China will further increase pension and living subsidies for disabled veterans, Red Army veterans and families of martyrs starting Aug. 1, China's Army Day. Pension allowances for disabled soldiers, police officers and militia members, as well as families of martyrs and deceased soldiers, will be increased by 10 percent from last year, according to a statement jointly issued by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. After the adjustment, yearly pension allowances for veterans disabled in...

China. ETFs fast gaining popularity

Chinese fund management companies should ride the boom of pension fund-of-funds providers and work closely to develop more exchange-traded fund products for longer-term retail wealth, according to a new survey. Assets under management of China's outstanding ETF products reached 381 billion yuan ($55.4 billion) in 2018, hitting a historical high, according to a study by consultancy Oliver Wyman released on Wednesday. Meanwhile, assets under management rapidly grew with close to 40 new funds launched during the year. ETFs are...

China to walk fine line between sustaining growth, pension system

China is attempting to walk a fine line between lowering corporate burdens to boost economic growth and making the country's pension scheme more sustainable amid an aging population. In its latest step, the government vowed to roll out a nationwide pilot program announced in 2017 that transfers stakes in state-owned firms to social security funds. This comes as the 2-trillion-yuan (about 291.55 billion U.S. dollars) reduction of tax burdens and social insurance contributions of enterprises helped lower corporate burdens...

China to step up state asset transfers to pension funds amid sustainability concerns

China will expand a pilot program this year to transfer government holdings in state-owned enterprises to social security funds nationwide in response to concerns about the sustainability of the pension system, said Caixin. The State Council decided at an executive meeting this week to fully push for the transfer of 10% of the equity in state-owned companies to the national social security fund and relevant local entities. The move is a further implementation of a 2017 trial plan that was limited to...