PBOC chief calls for health, pension plans
21 November 2006
The government must address China's pension and health care problems while it still has the financial resources to make a difference, People's Bank of China (PBOC) chief Zhou Xiaochuan told state media on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Melbourne. Zhou advocated a system of private health and pension insurance as well as cash support for the poor, the Financial Times reported. Workers and their families were once guaranteed cradle-to-grave welfare support but the collapse of numerous state-owned enterprises has left the country with substantial unfunded pension liabilities. Even self-funded pension schemes are struggling as they accumulate just 2-3% annual returns in the domestic capital markets against 10% per annum real wage growth. On top of this, as a result of China's one-child policy, the working age population will peak around 2010, and thereafter dependents will outnumber earners.
