China pushes gig and migrant workers into state pension scheme amid funding strain

At a news conference on October 10, Li Zhong, deputy minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, outlined a strategy to boost enrollment in China's state pension scheme by using data-driven methods to find individuals who have not yet contributed. The government aims to bring gig-economy participants, rural migrant workers and other flexible-employment groups into the program, and will also press small and mid-size enterprises to increase their contributions.

These steps are intended to improve the system’s fairness, security and financial stability as demographic trends create mounting pressure on pension funds. Earlier predictions from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences warned of a funding gap by the late 2020s and potential depletion of reserves by the mid-2030s. Recent economic challenges have already led about 58 million people to pause contributions, and low-salary workers face high contribution ratios that can approach 100 percent of their wages. The ministry’s new data-tracking approach reflects an effort to address these shortfalls before they worsen.