China to break dual pension system

BEIJING -- China will reform its pension system for staff in government, Party bodies, and public institutions, Vice Premier Ma Kai said in a report to the top legislature on Tuesday.

Ma delivered a report about China's social security system at the ongoing bi-monthly session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, saying the reform will establish the same pension system with urban employees.

In accordance with the central authority's arrangement, several departments have drafted a plan for the reform based on extensive studies. The draft was then approved at the executive meeting of the State Council and by the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The basic idea of the reform is to build a pension system for Party, government and public institutions with the same qualities as that for enterprises to break the long-held dual system.

The reform will be carried out nationwide simultaneously with reforms of the salary system, Ma added.

China has the world's most public servants and staff of publicly-sponsored institutions, with government and public institutions major employers.

As the Chinese population is expected to reach 1.43 billion in 2020, the State Council is implementing a plan to make a pension system that covers the whole population.

Ma said the government is trying to cover 900 million people with the pension system by 2017, and 1 billion in 2020, raising the coverage rate from the current 80 percent to 95 percent.