China has unveiled new measures to unify the country's pension system in a bid to level out the massive pension gap between the public sector and those working in enterprises.Â
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Under the new scheme, about 40 million staff in the public sector will now have to start paying for their pension plans.
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According to the plan, employees in government agencies and public institutions will pay 8 percent of their monthly salaries into the plan, while their employers will pay 20 percent of the employee's total salary each month.
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Jin Weigang, an official from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, says the reform aims at equality.
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"Currently, we have different mechanisms for the pension system, so there are differences in treatments, especially in government agencies. Their employees don't have to pay for the pension, but they enjoy a relatively higher treatment than enterprise employees. The reform could settle the disputes of equality on this matter."
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Under the dual pension system, employees in a state agency can get 80 to 90 percent of their salary after retirement while the employees of a private business may only get 30 to 60 percent.
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Experts say the reform will relieve the burden on the private sector and encourage free flow of staff between public and private firms.Â