China’s Pension Coverage Hits 1.075 Billion People as Aging Accelerates
China’s basic pension insurance participation reached 1.07591 billion people by the end of 2025, an increase of 3.09 million from the previous year, according to the 2025 National Aging Development Report jointly released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Committee on Aging. The data, published by People’s Daily, underscores the continued expansion of social security coverage even as the country confronts one of the most rapid demographic transitions in modern history.
An Aging Population at Record Levels
The report reveals that China’s elderly population has reached unprecedented levels. As of the end of 2025, there were 323.38 million people aged 60 and above, accounting for 23.0 percent of the total population, while 223.65 million people were aged 65 and above, representing 15.9 percent. The old-age dependency ratio for those 65 and older stood at 23.1 percent, and average life expectancy reached 79.25 years, according to China News Service.
Over the past decade, China has added 100 million elderly people, growing from 220 million in 2015 to 323 million in 2025. With 23 percent of its population now aged 60 or above, China has entered the stage of “moderate aging” under international standards, which classify 20-30 percent as moderate and over 30 percent as severe aging.
Pension System Expansion by Segment
The pension data reveals significant growth across both major pillars of China’s basic pension system. Urban employee basic pension insurance covered 546.72 million people, an increase of 12.2 million year-on-year, with 394.57 million active insured employees and 152.15 million retirees receiving pensions. Meanwhile, urban-rural resident basic pension insurance covered 529.19 million people, of whom 188.2 million were actually receiving benefits, as reported by The Paper.
Beyond basic coverage, the report highlights progress in supplementary pension mechanisms. Individual pension accounts accumulated 145.2 billion yuan in deposits, while the national minimum standard for urban-rural resident basic pension was raised by 20 yuan in 2025. Enterprise annuity programs expanded to 17.79 million participating employees across 334,300 companies.
Broader Social Security Gains
The aging report also documents substantial expansion in related social security programs. Basic medical insurance coverage reached 1.3307 billion people, maintaining a stable coverage rate of 95 percent. Among urban-rural resident medical insurance participants, 233.66 million were aged 60 and above, a 4.4 percent increase from 2024.
Long-term care insurance has seen particularly dramatic growth. Coverage expanded to 308.55 million people, with 1.93 million receiving benefits—a more than 60 percent increase in insured scale and over 30 percent growth in benefit recipients compared to 2024, according to Guangming Daily. Wei Yanyan, associate researcher at the China Research Center on Aging, noted that this growth “lays a solid foundation for basic system establishment within about 3 years.”
Expert Perspectives on the Road Ahead
Chen Gong, director of the Institute of Population Research at Peking University, observed that “China’s elderly population continues to expand, and the degree of aging is deepening. The pension, medical care, nursing, rehabilitation, and social participation of the elderly have become topics of widespread concern across all sectors of society.”
Xie Lili, director of the Gerontology Department at Renmin University, outlined five priority directions for future aging policy: service quality improvement, workforce optimization, industry empowerment, active participation, and equal development. She emphasized the need to “continue step-by-step narrowing the gap in elderly care services between urban and rural areas and between regions, pushing quality elderly care resources down to grassroots communities and rural areas.”
The report also highlights the growing “silver economy” as a driver of both welfare and economic growth. The People’s Bank of China established a 500 billion yuan special re-loan for elderly care, while home adaptation for aging drove sales of 7.21 million age-friendly products. Travel-based elderly care reached 80 million person-trips in 2025.
What to Watch
China’s elderly population is projected to peak around 2050, meaning the pressures on the pension and care systems will intensify for decades. The government has responded with a three-pillar pension structure—basic insurance, enterprise annuities, and individual accounts—alongside rapid expansion of long-term care insurance and elderly care infrastructure. The government’s official report notes that 39.5 million elderly care institutions and facilities now operate nationwide, with 7.679 million beds available.
As Caixin notes, China’s demographic trajectory presents both challenges and opportunities. The coming years will test whether the country’s social security system can keep pace with an aging population that is growing faster than almost anywhere else in the world.