(Yicai Global) Aug. 25 -- China has built the world’s largest social security system, a scheme that covers more than 1 billion people, a government minister said.

The number of people brought under the system has increased by 250 million in 10 years to 1.004 billion, Li Zhong, vice minister for human resources and social security, told reporters today.

The system has CNY6.9 trillion (USD1 trillion) of funds for pensions, unemployment and work-related injury benefits, Qi Tao, the head of the ministry’s pension insurance department, said at the same press briefing. Basic pension insurance funds for corporate employees stand at CNY5.1 trillion, forming a robust net, he noted.

The employee basic pension fund received CNY4.4 trillion last year and paid out CNY4.1 trillion. The fund has been stable this year as well, Qi said.

Despite greater pressure on the economy and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, pension payments still rose by 4 percent this year.

And CNY124 billion (USD18.1 billion) of pension monies were transferred to provinces with payment difficulties in the first half of the year. The central government’s contributions to the worker basic pension fund reached CNY650 billion this year, with priority given to western regions and old industrial centers.

Editor: Peter Thomas