In order to better ensure that retirees have a sense of security in their old age, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance issued a notice on July 10, clarifying that starting from January 1, 2025, the basic pension level will be increased by 2% of the average monthly basic pension for retirees before the end of 2024. Next, each province will develop specific implementation plans based on their local conditions. The basic pension adjusted and increased this year will be disbursed as soon as possible, benefiting about 150 million retirees. Since 2005, China has continuously adjusted the basic pension for retirees. Maintaining the growth of pension funds in the current domestic economic environment of pressure and increasing uncertainty reflects the high importance attached by the Party Central Committee and the State Council to safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods. ”Mo Rong, President of the Chinese Academy of Labor and Social Security Sciences, said. He stated that the country has determined a 2% upward adjustment ratio for this year, taking into account factors such as price increases and wage growth in the previous year. It should be noted that this 2% is the overall adjustment level of the country. The national "general ledger" is that the average monthly basic pension for all retirees will increase by 2% by 2024. But when it comes to personal "small accounts", not every retired person increases their basic pension by 2%. Specifically for individuals, how much will it increase and how will it be calculated? The relevant person in charge of the Pension Insurance Department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security introduced that the adjustment method of combining quota adjustment, linkage adjustment, and appropriate tilt will continue to be adopted, with a focus on tilting towards groups with lower pension levels. Fixed amount adjustment refers to the uniform upward adjustment of pension amounts for all types of retirees in the same region, regardless of whether the pension level is high or low. Linked adjustment refers to the adjustment that is related to the payment years and basic pension benefits of retired individuals themselves. The former reflects the principle of long-term payment with more benefits, while the latter reflects the principle of paying more with more benefits. Therefore, there may be differences in the amount of linkage adjustment for each individual. Appropriate tilt refers to the appropriate increase in the adjustment level of benefits for some retirees, including elderly retirees, retirees from difficult and remote areas, etc., reflecting care for key groups. The final adjustment range for individuals will be determined by the sum of the above three parts. According to this adjustment method, the actual growth rate of each person's pension will be different, and the increase in pension for retirees with lower pension levels will be higher, "said Zheng Wei, director of the China Insurance and Social Security Research Center at Peking University. In the coming years, as the population born during the peak of childbirth in the 1960s gradually reaches retirement age, the number of people receiving pensions will increase. In this regard, Dong Keyong, a professor at Renmin University of China, said through analysis: "As the number of retirees increases, the pension fund expenditure will also increase. But as long as the income exceeds the expenditure, the sustainability of the system can be maintained to a considerable extent." Dong Keyong said that in 2024, the basic pension fund for enterprise employees will generate 7.5 trillion yuan of income and 6.8 trillion yuan of expenditure. The current income and expenditure will be slightly balanced, and the operation will remain stable. In the current income of the pension, there are subsidies from various levels of finance, especially the central finance. It is reported that in recent years, the central government has further increased subsidies, and local governments at all levels have actively implemented their responsibilities for pension expenditures. In the past, the basic pension insurance for enterprise employees in China was centrally managed at the provincial level. Due to differences in the age structure of insured individuals and other reasons, some areas experienced income inequality, which was mainly resolved through central adjustment at that time. Now the basic pension insurance for enterprise employees has been fully coordinated nationwide, utilizing new mechanisms to provide stronger support for disadvantaged provinces. ”Dong Keyong introduces. Experts say that in the long run, there are still reserves for pensions. In 2024, the cumulative balance of the basic pension insurance fund for enterprise employees will be 7.1 trillion yuan. At the same time, the national social security fund has a strategic reserve of over 2.6 trillion yuan, and the central government has transferred 1.68 trillion yuan of state-owned capital to enrich the social security fund. (New Society)