Based on the executive meeting of the State Council on February 7, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, the basic old-age insurance systems for rural and urban residents will be integrated and a unified nationwide basic old-age insurance system for both rural and urban residents will be established.

　　It is pointed out at the meeting that, a unified basic old-age insurance system for rural and urban residents will allow people to have equal access to basic old-age pension scheme, which is an inevitable requirement of the economic and social development and the demand of advancing new four modernizations. It will facilitate vertical population movement, boost up social sense of security, and also build stable expectations for livelihood improvement, adding that it will also boost consumption and encourage more business start-ups. The meeting stated that, on the basis of realizing full coverage of rural social old-age insurance and urban resident social old-age insurance, the two systems will be integrated and implemented in conformity with legal provisions, a unified nationwide basic old-age insurance system for both rural and urban residents will be built, and of which, the system mode, ways of funding and benefit distribution will be in keep with the two systems that are before the integration. Pension funds will be pooled from individuals, employers and governments at various levels. The budget from the central government will provide full amount of subsidies to people in central and western regions and 50% to people in eastern regions according to the criteria of basic old-age insurance. Governments at various levels will provide partial or full amount of the minimum premium for people who have difficulty in paying the fees like those with severe disabilities and encourage social commonweal and charity organizations to provide financial aid for the policy holders.

　　The meeting addressed that resources shall be integrated to hoist joining the basic old-age insurance system for rural and urban resident to other social security systems in order to optimize the structure of fiscal expenditure and increase financial investment. A unified nationwide social security card shall be vigorously promoted in order to improve managing services and facilitate people. Funds shall be rigorously supervised and controlled. Besides, illegal behaviors like fraudulent applications and claims and unwarranted diversion of financial resources from designated uses shall be investigated and punished to bring into play the security functions of the system and serve as a safety net for millions of seniors. (Xinhua News Agency)