China’s Basic Pension Insurance Coverage Reaches 1.076 Billion People
China’s basic pension insurance participation reached 1.076 billion people by the end of June 2026, according to data released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS). The milestone, reported by Xinhua News, underscores the country’s expanding social security coverage as it confronts the challenges of a rapidly aging population.
The figures show that unemployment insurance participants reached 249 million (up 4.35 million year-over-year), while work injury insurance coverage, including occupational injury protection, reached 323 million people (up 22.83 million). During the first half of 2026, the three social insurance funds generated 4.88 trillion yuan in revenue against 4.14 trillion yuan in expenditures, leaving a cumulative balance of 11.07 trillion yuan at the end of June — indicating stable fund operations overall.
Context: Building the World’s Largest Social Security System
China has constructed the world’s largest social security system, built on a multi-pillar framework that includes basic pension insurance, enterprise and occupational annuities, and personal pension accounts. The system’s expansion comes at a critical juncture, as the country faces significant demographic pressures from an aging population.
The recently issued “15th Five-Year Plan” for Human Resources and Social Security Development sets ambitious targets for the 2026-2030 period, including maintaining the basic pension insurance participation rate above 95 percent. As People’s Daily reported, the plan outlines seven major goals and 18 quantitative indicators covering employment, social security, talent development, labor relations, and public services.
High-Quality Participation Initiative
The “15th Five-Year Plan” explicitly calls for implementing “high-quality participation actions” to deepen institutional innovation and bring more people into social security coverage. A MOHRSS official stated that during the plan period, departments will “adhere to doing our best and acting within our means, hold the bottom line of people’s livelihood, enhance the accessibility and convenience of social insurance, and improve the precision and inclusiveness of participation policies.”
Key priorities include developing a multi-level, multi-pillar pension insurance system, improving assistance policies for vulnerable groups, expanding unemployment and work injury insurance coverage, and strengthening digital transformation of social insurance management.
Occupational Injury Protection Expanded Nationwide
A notable development is the nationwide expansion of the occupational injury protection pilot, which since July 1, 2026, has been fully rolled out across all 31 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. The pilot, launched in July 2022, was designed specifically for food delivery riders, ride-hailing drivers, and other workers in new employment forms.
According to Xinhua News, cumulative participants in the pilot reached 29.902 million by the end of June. The program uses a daily participation model with per-order billing and monthly payment, designed to accommodate workers with high mobility across multiple platforms. New platforms added in the 2026 expansion include T3 Travel, Meituan Taxi, Hema Fresh, and Dingdong Maicai, among others.
State Council Priorities for Social Security Reform
At a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang on July 20, officials studied ways to optimize the social security system. The meeting called for improving overall coordination and synergy, deepening policy and mechanism innovation, enriching the multi-level social security system, and actively exploring new social security models for flexible employment personnel.
The meeting also emphasized optimizing housing security measures for migrant workers, promoting sharing of care services resources for those with disabilities, and using advanced technology to improve service convenience.
Digital Services and Infrastructure
The social security system’s digital infrastructure continues to expand. By the end of March 2026, the National Social Security Public Service Platform had opened 104 national and cross-regional social insurance services. Nationwide, 1.39 billion people hold social security cards, of which 1.107 billion have electronic social security cards, with 189 national-level services available.
Looking Ahead
As China enters the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, the focus on expanding coverage while improving service quality reflects a broader strategy to strengthen the social safety net amid demographic transition. The 18 quantitative indicators outlined in the plan include targets for unemployment insurance to reach 255 million participants, work injury insurance to reach 345 million, and enterprise annuity fund scale to exceed 9 trillion yuan.
The challenge ahead lies in balancing the expansion of coverage with the long-term sustainability of the system. With the occupational injury protection pilot now nationwide and continued emphasis on bringing flexible and gig economy workers into formal social security arrangements, China’s social security system is positioned for continued growth — but its durability will depend on effective fund management and demographic adaptation in the years ahead.