China
Worked in China? Any pension you built up here is yours to keep and can usually be paid to you abroad — but you have to claim it; it won't start automatically. The full state pension age is 63, with early access from 57. On totalization, China has bilateral totalization agreements, so the years you worked here may combine with other countries you've worked in. Below is China's system at a glance and what expats should check.
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Overview
China operates a multi-pillar pension system covering over 1.07 billion people.
The first pillar consists of two mandatory public schemes: the Urban Employee Basic Pension Insurance (城镇职工基本养老保险) for salaried urban workers, and the Urban and Rural Residents Basic Pension (城乡居民基本养老保险) for non-employed rural and urban residents. The Urban Employee scheme combines a pay-as-you-go defined-benefit social pooling account (funded by employer contributions of 16%) with a mandatory defined-contribution individual account (funded by employee contributions of 8%). The second pillar comprises voluntary Enterprise Annuities (企业年金) and mandatory Occupational Annuities for public-sector employees. The third pillar is the Individual Pension Account (个人养老金账户), a voluntary tax-deferred scheme launched as a pilot in November 2022 and expanded nationwide in December 2024, with an annual contribution ceiling of CNY 12,000.
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China enacted landmark pension reforms in September 2024, effective January 1, 2025. For the first time since 1978, the statutory retirement age is being gradually raised over 15 years: from 60 to 63 for men, from 55 to 58 for white-collar women, and from 50 to 55 for blue-collar women. A flexible retirement system allows early retirement of up to three years (not below the former statutory age) or delayed retirement of up to three years by mutual employer-employee agreement. Starting January 2030, the minimum contribution period for monthly pension benefits will also rise incrementally from 15 to 20 years (by six months per year), reaching 20 years by 2039.
The system faces significant structural challenges including rapid population aging, regional fragmentation, and a large urban-rural benefit disparity. By 2024, the basic pension fund for urban employees had a cumulative surplus of 7.1 trillion yuan. Basic pensions have been raised by 2% annually for 21 consecutive years (2025 adjustment effective January 1, 2025), benefiting approximately 150 million retirees. The government has also transferred shares from state-owned enterprises to the National Social Security Fund to bridge funding gaps.
~68% (average earner, men, mandatory schemes per OECD 2024; low earners: ~87%; high earners: ~59%)
Pillar 1a: Mandatory Urban Employee Basic Pension Insurance — pay-as-you-go defined-benefit social pooling account + mandatory defined-contribution individual account; Pillar 1b: Urban and Rural Residents Basic Pension — voluntary contributions with government subsidy, flat-rate benefit; Pillar 2: Voluntary Enterprise Annuity (企业年金) for private-sector employees; mandatory Occupational Annuity (职业年金) for government/public-institution employees; Pillar 3: Voluntary Individual Pension Account (个人养老金账户) — tax-deferred, nationwide from December 15, 2024, CNY 12,000 annual cap
Multi-pillar mixed public-private system (Bismarckian-influenced)
Employee
8%
Employer
16%
Self-Employed
20% (12% to social pooling fund + 8% to individual account; voluntary participation)
Notes
Standard national rates: employee 8%, employer 16% of gross salary, capped at 300% of local average monthly wage. Contribution base floor is typically 60% of local average wage. Rates are set nationally but administered locally; regional variation in base ceilings exists (e.g., Shanghai 2026 ceiling exceeds CNY 36,000/month). Self-employed persons voluntarily covered at 20% total. Pensioners pay no social security contributions. Employer contributions are tax-deductible as business expenses.
Common questions
What is the retirement age in China?
The full state pension age in China is 63. Early retirement may be possible from 57. Deferring can raise your pension up to age 66.
Can I claim a China pension if I live abroad?
Yes. A pension you've earned in China stays yours wherever you retire, and can usually be paid into an overseas account once you reach pension age. It won't start automatically, though — you need to claim it, typically a few months in advance, through China's pension authority.
Do totalization agreements affect my China pension?
China has bilateral social-security (totalization) agreements. These can let you combine the years you worked in China with years in partner countries to meet a minimum qualifying period, so short stints aren't wasted. Which partners and rules apply depends on your own work history.
How is the pension system structured in China?
Multi-pillar mixed public-private system (Bismarckian-influenced) Pillar 1a: Mandatory Urban Employee Basic Pension Insurance — pay-as-you-go defined-benefit social pooling account + mandatory defined-contribution individual account; Pillar 1b: Urban and Rural Residents Basic Pension — voluntary contributions with government subsidy, flat-rate benefit; Pillar 2: Voluntary Enterprise Annuity (企业年金) for private-sector employees; mandatory Occupational Annuity (职业年金) for government/public-institution employees; Pillar 3: Voluntary Individual Pension Account (个人养老金账户) — tax-deferred, nationwide from December 15, 2024, CNY 12,000 annual cap It includes 4 schemes in our directory.