In 2022, China’s central government piloted new tax incentives in 36 cities and regions to encourage employees to make voluntary contributions to individual retirement accounts to complement social security pension benefits and help address the challenges of a rapidly aging population. After a successful pilot, the system is now fully implemented nationwide as of December 15, 2024.
The following changes to the individual accounts under the pilot program have been made:
Tax incentives under the system remain the same:
According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 72.8 million people in the 36 cities had opened individual retirement accounts as of November 2024. Though employers do not have a financial or administrative role in the system, the nationwide availability of the program to employees could affect employers’ future thinking on providing retirement benefits. Interest in supplemental retirement plans has been growing, if modestly, among the companies surveyed by WTW. As of January 2025, 22% provide such plans (the majority being enterprise annuity plans).