Beijing Hosts Fourth Global Pension Finance Conference as Individual Pension Deposits Top RMB 22.31 Billion

The fourth Global Pension Finance Conference was held on September 10 during the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services. Guests from government, industry, academia and research discussed high-quality development of pension finance in the era of artificial intelligence, drawing on Beijing's practices, international experience and industry challenges to examine the sector's shift toward systematization, inclusiveness and intelligent upgrading. As a national pilot zone for pension finance, Beijing has built a multi-dimensional policy support system covering individual pensions, commercial pension insurance and pension wealth management, coordinating banking, insurance and fund resources to connect elderly care services with financial supply chains.

In 2025, Beijing's individual pension deposits exceeded RMB 22.31 billion. Exclusive pension insurance, pension wealth management and commercial pension products together exceeded RMB 59.4 billion in scale. Public funds, social security funds, occupational annuities and other pension-related assets managed by financial institutions in Beijing exceeded RMB 14.4 trillion. Inclusive health insurance recorded more than 17 million effective participants.

Zhu Yaoyin, vice president of the China Association of Social Welfare and Senior Service, presented research on Japan's long-term care insurance, noting that it has driven the development of segments including welfare equipment leasing, home renovation for elderly accessibility and caregiving robots. The narrow welfare equipment market alone is worth JPY 360 billion to JPY 400 billion.

China has established a three-pillar pension system. The first pillar, basic old-age insurance, covers more than 1 billion people. The second pillar, enterprise annuities, has operated for 22 years, covering more than 30 million people and accumulating assets of more than RMB 4 trillion. The third pillar, individual pensions, has nearly 200 million accounts. The current system faces insufficient product supply during the payout phase and inadequate coverage of flexible workers, while transfers and continuity between the second and third pillars remain difficult.

Kan Weilan, chief economist at the United Nations Development Programme's China office, said at the conference that the adjusted multidimensional poverty rate among China's elderly is 12%. Older women earn nearly 30% less than men on average while bearing a disproportionate share of unpaid care responsibilities. Fewer than 1% of China's elderly receive care through institutions.