Social Insurance Law of the People’s Republic of China — Full English Translation (2010, Amended 2018)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purposes of regulating social insurance relations, safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of citizens to participate in social insurance and enjoy social insurance benefits, enabling citizens to share the fruits of development, and promoting social harmony and stability.

Article 2 The state shall establish a social insurance system comprising basic old-age insurance, basic medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, and other social insurance, to protect the right of citizens to receive material assistance from the state and society in the event of old age, illness, work-related injury, unemployment, or childbirth.

Article 3 The social insurance system shall adhere to the principles of extensive coverage, basic protection, multi-level coverage, and sustainability, and the level of social insurance shall be commensurate with the level of economic and social development.

Article 4 Employing units and individuals within the territory of the People’s Republic of China shall pay social insurance premiums in accordance with law, and shall have the right to inquire about payment records and personal benefit records, and to request social insurance agencies to provide social insurance consultation and other related services.

Article 5 The people’s governments at or above the county level shall incorporate social insurance into their national economic and social development plans. The state shall raise social insurance funds through multiple channels. People’s governments at or above the county level shall provide financial support for social insurance.

Article 6 The state shall exercise strict supervision over social insurance funds. The State Council and provincial-level people’s governments shall establish and improve the supervision and administration system for social insurance funds to ensure their safe and efficient operation.

Article 7 The social insurance administrative department of the State Council shall be responsible for the administration of social insurance nationwide. The social insurance administrative departments of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the administration of social insurance within their respective administrative areas.

Article 8 Social insurance agencies shall provide social insurance services, and shall be responsible for social insurance registration, personal benefit recordkeeping, payment and management of social insurance benefits, and other work.

Article 9 Trade unions shall protect the lawful rights and interests of staff and workers in accordance with law, and shall have the right to participate in research on major social insurance matters and to supervise social insurance matters related to the rights and interests of staff and workers.

Chapter II: Basic Old-Age Insurance

Article 10 Staff and workers shall participate in basic old-age insurance, and basic old-age insurance premiums shall be paid jointly by the employing unit and the staff and workers. Self-employed individuals without employees and other persons in flexible employment may participate in basic old-age insurance, and premiums shall be paid by individuals.

Article 11 The basic old-age insurance shall adopt a combination of social pooling and individual accounts. The basic old-age insurance fund shall be composed of contributions from employing units and individuals and government subsidies.

Article 12 An employing unit shall pay basic old-age insurance premiums at the rate prescribed by the state, based on the total wages of its staff and workers, and such premiums shall be credited to the basic old-age insurance pooling fund. Staff and workers shall pay basic old-age insurance premiums at the rate prescribed by the state, based on their own wages, and such premiums shall be credited to their individual accounts.

Article 13 Where the basic old-age insurance fund of a state-owned enterprise or institution is insufficient for payment during the deemed contribution period before participation in basic old-age insurance, the government shall bear the subsidy liability.

Article 14 Individual accounts shall not be withdrawn in advance, and the bookkeeping interest rate shall not be lower than the bank fixed-term deposit interest rate, and interest tax shall be exempted. Where an individual dies, the balance of the individual account may be inherited.

Article 15 The basic pension shall be composed of a pooled pension and a personal account pension. The amount shall be determined based on factors such as the individual’s cumulative years of contribution, contribution wages, average salary of local staff and workers, amount of the individual account, and average life expectancy of the urban population.

Article 16 An individual who has participated in basic old-age insurance and has made cumulative contributions for 15 years when reaching the statutory retirement age shall receive a basic pension on a monthly basis. An individual with less than 15 years of contributions may pay contributions until reaching 15 years or transfer to the new rural social old-age insurance or urban residents’ social old-age insurance.

Article 17 Where an individual who has participated in basic old-age insurance dies due to illness or non-work-related reasons, his or her surviving family members may receive funeral subsidies and pensions; where the individual becomes disabled before reaching retirement age due to illness or non-work-related reasons, he or she may receive a sickness or disability allowance.

Article 18 The state shall establish a normal adjustment mechanism for basic pensions. The level of basic pension benefits shall be raised in a timely manner based on the increase in average wages of staff and workers and price increases.

Article 19 Where an individual transfers employment across pooling regions, his or her basic old-age insurance relationship shall be transferred along with the individual, and the years of contribution shall be cumulatively calculated.

Article 20 The state shall establish and improve a new rural social old-age insurance system. The new rural social old-age insurance shall adopt a combination of individual contributions, collective subsidies, and government subsidies.

Article 21 The benefits of the new rural social old-age insurance shall be composed of a basic pension and a personal account pension. Rural residents who meet the conditions prescribed by the state shall receive new rural social old-age insurance benefits on a monthly basis.

Article 22 The state shall establish and improve an urban residents’ social old-age insurance system. Provincial-level people’s governments may, based on actual circumstances, combine the urban residents’ social old-age insurance and the new rural social old-age insurance for implementation.

Chapter III: Basic Medical Insurance

Article 23 Staff and workers shall participate in basic medical insurance for staff and workers, and premiums shall be paid jointly by the employing unit and the staff and workers. Self-employed individuals without employees and other persons in flexible employment may participate in basic medical insurance for staff and workers, and premiums shall be paid by individuals.

Article 24 The state shall establish and improve a new rural cooperative medical insurance system. The administrative measures shall be prescribed by the State Council.

Article 25 The state shall establish and improve an urban residents’ basic medical insurance system. The urban residents’ basic medical insurance shall adopt a combination of individual contributions and government subsidies.

Article 26 The benefit standards of basic medical insurance for staff and workers, the new rural cooperative medical insurance, and the urban residents’ basic medical insurance shall be implemented in accordance with state provisions.

Article 27 Where an individual who has participated in basic medical insurance for staff and workers has made cumulative contributions for the number of years prescribed by the state when reaching the statutory retirement age, he or she shall no longer pay basic medical insurance premiums after retirement and shall enjoy basic medical insurance benefits.

Article 28 Medical expenses that are within the scope of the basic medical insurance drug catalog, diagnosis and treatment items, medical service facility standards, and emergency and rescue expenses shall be paid from the basic medical insurance fund in accordance with state provisions.

Article 29 The portion of medical expenses of insured persons that should be paid from the basic medical insurance fund shall be settled directly between the social insurance agency and the medical institution or pharmaceutical business entity. A settlement system for medical expenses incurred for medical treatment in other places shall be established.

Article 30 The following medical expenses shall not be covered by the basic medical insurance fund: (1) expenses that should be paid from the work-related injury insurance fund; (2) expenses that should be borne by a third party; (3) expenses that should be borne by public health; (4) expenses for medical treatment abroad.

Article 31 Social insurance agencies may, based on the needs of management services, enter into service agreements with medical institutions and pharmaceutical business entities to regulate medical service practices. Medical institutions shall provide reasonable and necessary medical services to insured persons.

Chapter IV: Work-Related Injury Insurance

Article 32 Staff and workers shall participate in work-related injury insurance, and work-related injury insurance premiums shall be paid by the employing unit. Staff and workers shall not pay work-related injury insurance premiums.

Article 33 Work-related injury insurance premium rates shall be determined based on the principle of determining revenue by expenditure and maintaining a balance between revenue and expenditure. The state shall determine differential premium rates for different industries based on the degree of risk of work-related injuries.

Article 34 The state shall determine differential premium rates for different industries based on the degree of risk of work-related injuries and shall determine several rate brackets within each industry. The specific measures shall be prescribed by the social insurance administrative department of the State Council.

Article 35 An employing unit shall pay work-related injury insurance premiums based on the total wages of its staff and workers and the premium rate determined by the social insurance agency.

Article 36 Where a staff member or worker suffers an accidental injury or contracts an occupational disease in the course of work and is confirmed through work-related injury identification, he or she shall enjoy work-related injury insurance benefits.

Article 37 An injury or death in the following circumstances shall be deemed a work-related injury: (1) suffering an accidental injury due to work-related reasons during working hours and at the workplace; (2) suffering an accidental injury while engaging in work-related preparatory or finishing work at the workplace; (3) suffering an accidental injury due to violence while performing work duties; (4) contracting an occupational disease; (5) suffering an injury during business travel due to work-related reasons; (6) suffering an injury in a traffic accident for which the individual is not primarily responsible while going to or leaving work.

Article 38 Expenses incurred for the treatment of work-related injuries shall be paid from the work-related injury insurance fund.

Article 39 Where a staff member or worker suffers a work-related injury and requires suspension of work for medical treatment, the employing unit shall continue to pay his or her wages and benefits during the period of suspension of work for medical treatment.

Article 40 Where a work-related injury causes a disability, the disabled staff member or worker shall enjoy disability benefits based on the disability grade assessed.

Article 41 Where a staff member or worker dies due to a work-related injury, his or her close relatives shall receive funeral subsidies, pensions for dependent relatives, and a lump-sum work-related death subsidy from the work-related injury insurance fund.

Article 42 Where a work-related injury occurs due to a third party and the third party fails to pay the medical expenses or the third party cannot be identified, the work-related injury insurance fund shall pay the expenses in advance and shall have the right to seek reimbursement from the third party.

Chapter V: Unemployment Insurance

Article 43 Staff and workers shall participate in unemployment insurance, and unemployment insurance premiums shall be paid jointly by the employing unit and the staff and workers in accordance with state provisions.

Article 44 Where an employing unit and a staff member or worker who has paid unemployment insurance premiums for one year or more are not subject to voluntary interruption of employment and the staff member or worker has registered as unemployed and seeks employment, they may receive unemployment insurance benefits.

Article 45 Unemployment insurance benefits shall be determined by provincial-level people’s governments and shall not be lower than the urban subsistence allowance standard.

Article 46 The period of receiving unemployment insurance benefits shall be: where the cumulative premium payment period is 1-5 years, maximum 12 months; 5-10 years, maximum 18 months; 10 years or more, maximum 24 months.

Article 47 The standard of unemployment insurance benefits shall be determined by provincial-level people’s governments and shall not be lower than the urban subsistence allowance standard.

Article 48 During the period of receiving unemployment insurance benefits, unemployed persons shall participate in basic medical insurance for staff and workers and enjoy basic medical insurance benefits. The basic medical insurance premiums shall be paid from the unemployment insurance fund.

Article 49 Where an unemployed person dies during the period of receiving unemployment insurance benefits, his or her surviving family members shall receive a lump-sum funeral subsidy and pension from the unemployment insurance fund.

Article 50 An employing unit shall issue a certificate of termination or discharge of the labor relationship to the unemployed person in a timely manner and shall inform the social insurance agency of the list of unemployed persons within 15 days.

Article 51 The payment of unemployment insurance benefits shall cease where the unemployed person: (1) has been re-employed; (2) has been conscripted for military service; (3) has emigrated to reside abroad; (4) has commenced receiving the basic old-age pension; (5) refuses without justifiable reason to accept appropriate jobs or training.

Chapter VI: Maternity Insurance

Article 52 Staff and workers shall participate in maternity insurance, and maternity insurance premiums shall be paid by the employing unit in accordance with state provisions. Staff and workers shall not pay maternity insurance premiums.

Article 53 Female staff and workers who have paid maternity insurance premiums for a certain period of time and given birth shall enjoy maternity insurance benefits, including maternity medical expenses and maternity allowances.

Article 54 The maternity medical expenses of female staff and workers giving birth shall include expenses for examinations, delivery, surgery, hospitalization, and medication during childbirth; and medical expenses incurred due to childbirth-related diseases.

Article 55 A maternity allowance shall be paid based on the average monthly wage of the staff and workers of the employing unit in the preceding year, and shall be calculated based on the prescribed period of maternity leave.

Article 56 Where a female staff member or worker gives birth or undergoes an abortion, her employing unit shall pay her wages during the period of maternity leave in accordance with the standards of maternity insurance benefits. The maternity medical expenses and maternity allowance shall be paid from the maternity insurance fund.

Chapter VII: Collection and Payment of Social Insurance Premiums

Article 57 An employing unit shall, within 30 days from the date of its establishment, apply to the local social insurance agency for social insurance registration based on its business license, registration certificate, or seal of the entity.

Article 58 An employing unit shall, within 30 days from the date of employment of a staff member or worker, apply to the social insurance agency for social insurance registration for the staff member or worker.

Article 59 Social insurance premiums shall be uniformly collected. The steps for and specific measures of the uniform collection of social insurance premiums shall be prescribed by the State Council.

Article 60 An employing unit shall declare and pay social insurance premiums in full and on time on its own, and shall not defer, reduce, or be exempted from paying social insurance premiums except for force majeure or other statutory reasons.

Article 61 Social insurance agencies shall record the payment of premiums, personal accounts of insured persons, and other rights and interests data of insured persons truthfully, completely, and in a timely manner.

Article 62 Employing units and individuals may request social insurance agencies to provide social insurance consultation and other related services free of charge.

Chapter VIII: Social Insurance Funds

Article 63 Social insurance funds shall include the basic old-age insurance fund, basic medical insurance fund, work-related injury insurance fund, unemployment insurance fund, and maternity insurance fund. The various social insurance funds shall be accounted for separately according to types of social insurance, and separate accounts shall be established.

Article 64 The social insurance funds shall be managed under a unified accounting system. The specific measures for the accounting of social insurance funds shall be prescribed by the State Council.

Article 65 The special financial accounts of social insurance funds shall ensure that the funds are used exclusively for social insurance purposes. No organization or individual shall misappropriate or use social insurance funds for other purposes.

Article 66 The social insurance fund budgets and final accounts shall be incorporated into the government budget management system.

Article 67 The operation of social insurance funds shall be subject to the supervision of the finance department and audit authority.

Article 68 The state shall establish a national social security fund, which shall be composed of funds allocated by the central government budget, funds raised through other means approved by the State Council, and the investment and operation income thereof.

Chapter IX: Social Insurance Agencies

Article 69 Social insurance agencies shall establish and improve management systems for business operations, finance, safety, and risk, and shall perform duties including: providing social insurance services, establishing and managing personal benefit records and individual accounts, and collecting and paying social insurance premiums.

Article 70 Social insurance agencies shall publish the procedures for handling social insurance and the relevant systems to facilitate the public in handling social insurance matters.

Article 71 Social insurance agencies shall pay social insurance benefits in full and on time.

Article 72 The funds required for the expenses of social insurance agencies shall be listed in the government budget and shall be allocated in full by the finance department.

Chapter X: Supervision

Article 73 The standing committees of the people’s congresses at all levels shall listen to and deliberate on the work reports of the people’s governments at the corresponding levels on the supervision and administration of social insurance funds.

Article 74 The social insurance administrative departments shall strengthen supervision and inspection of the compliance of employing units and individuals with social insurance laws and regulations.

Article 75 The finance departments and audit authorities shall supervise the collection, payment, management, and operation of social insurance funds in accordance with their respective functions and duties.

Article 76 Social insurance fund supervisory committees composed of representatives of employing units, insured persons, trade unions, experts, and others shall supervise the collection, payment, management, and operation of social insurance funds.

Article 77 Employing units and individuals shall have the right to inquire about payment records and personal benefit records from social insurance agencies, and to request social insurance agencies to provide social insurance consultation and other related services.

Article 78 Any organization or individual shall have the right to report or file charges against acts in violation of social insurance laws and regulations.

Article 79 Where any social insurance administrative department, social insurance agency, or other relevant administrative department fails to perform its statutory duties, any organization or individual shall have the right to report or file charges.

Chapter XI: Legal Liability

Article 80 Where an employing unit fails to register for social insurance, the social insurance administrative department shall order it to make corrections within a prescribed time limit; where it fails to make corrections, a fine of not less than the amount of social insurance premiums payable but not more than three times that amount shall be imposed.

Article 81 Where an employing unit fails to pay social insurance premiums in full and on time, the social insurance premium collection agency shall order it to pay or make up the shortfall within a prescribed time limit, and shall impose a late payment penalty of 0.05 percent of the unpaid amount per day from the date of default.

Article 82 Where an employing unit or an individual defrauds social insurance benefits by fraud, forgery of certification materials, or other means, the social insurance administrative department shall order the return of the defrauded social insurance benefits and impose a fine of not less than two times but not more than five times the amount defrauded.

Article 83 Where a social insurance agency or a staff member thereof fails to perform statutory duties, misappropriates social insurance funds, or discloses information of employing units and individuals, the responsible persons shall be subject to disciplinary sanctions and shall bear liability for compensation in accordance with law.

Article 84 Where a medical institution, pharmaceutical business entity, or other social insurance service institution defrauds social insurance fund expenditures by fraud, forgery of certification materials, or other means, the social insurance administrative department shall order the return of the defrauded funds and impose a fine of not less than two times but not more than five times the amount defrauded.

Article 85 Where any unit or individual misappropriates social insurance funds, the misappropriated funds shall be recovered, and the illegal gains shall be confiscated; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with law.

Chapter XII: Supplementary Provisions

Article 86 Where a state functionary commits any illegal act in social insurance administration or supervision and a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with law.

Article 87 This Law shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the administration of social insurance for foreigners employed in China.

Article 88 This Law shall come into force on July 1, 2011.