Interview with Zheng Gongcheng: Recommending to Issue "Historical Contribution Pension" to Rural Elderly Over 70 Years Old

“The 14th Five-Year Plan” Opening ● High-Level Interview

During this year’s National People’s Congress, suggestions to increase farmers’ pension benefits repeatedly trended on social media. Some proposed increases of 500 yuan, 800 yuan, while others suggested 1,000 yuan. Returning to the pension insurance system itself, how can we design practical and feasible plans to improve benefits?

Zheng Gongcheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and President of the China Social Security Society, is one of the most important scholars in the social security field, with long-term focus on core issues like social insurance reform. During the 2026 National People’s Congress, Zheng submitted a proposal advocating for a tiered approach to gradually increase pension benefits for farmers of different ages. Considering fiscal sustainability, he recommends prioritizing the most urgent, vulnerable, and representative group—the elderly farmers over 80 years old.

Zheng Gongcheng mentioned that currently, rural seniors over 70 are “voluntary workers” who bore the burden of building reservoirs, waterways, roads, and ports before China’s reform and opening up. They contributed greatly—sometimes sacrificing their lives—for the country’s industrialization and the initial accumulation of national wealth. Their labor results are essentially embedded in current state-owned assets, and they deserve compensation. He suggests providing them with an additional “historical contribution pension.”

Based on estimates from the Seventh Census data, Zheng analyzed that by 2025, there will be about 20 million rural residents aged 80 and above. If each receives an extra 500 yuan per month, totaling 6,000 yuan per year per person, the annual cost would be about 120 billion yuan—roughly 0.086% of GDP in 2025. As the number of high-age farmers benefiting from this decreases each year, annual expenditure will decline, making the burden lighter over time. Focusing on farmers over 80, while also providing a slightly lower historical contribution subsidy to rural residents over 70, is a feasible approach. If the national budget cannot bear this immediately, it can be addressed through allocation of state-owned assets. This is not only necessary but urgent. It can improve the living conditions of the older generation of farmers, boost public confidence in the pension system, reduce the burden on middle-aged and young farmers and their urbanized children, and stimulate consumer spending and domestic demand. Therefore, increasing basic pensions substantially for the older farmers has profound practical significance.

“Rural elderly pensions are severely inadequate, especially for the very old, who are more vulnerable in daily life. Surveys show that it’s not uncommon for rural seniors over 80 to still be working, while urban retirees start enjoying retirement before 60. The stark pension gap needs to be addressed quickly,” he said.

Zheng Gongcheng, member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and President of the China Social Security Society.

The historical contributions of the older generation of farmers should be compensated

Southern Metropolis Daily: In recent years, during the National People’s Congress, increasing farmers’ pensions has become a common call among representatives, committee members, and the public. Some suggest raising it to 500 yuan, 800 yuan, or even 1,000 yuan. From a professional social insurance perspective, how do you think these adjustments should be made?

Zheng Gongcheng: I strongly support raising the pension levels for rural elderly, especially for the very old. This is necessary to improve their current living conditions and also a delayed compensation for their historical contributions. However, specific amounts should be tailored through differentiated policies.

For the older generation of farmers who have exited the workforce, the only solution is to increase their welfare-based pensions to address their low pension levels. For middle-aged and young rural residents, it’s better to encourage participation through increased government and collective economic organization contributions, enabling them to improve their pension levels via personal insurance payments. Given the limited fiscal resources, it’s unrealistic to expect the government to fund pensions for hundreds of millions of people solely through basic government contributions. Instead, we should stimulate endogenous motivation by adopting a social pension insurance system similar to urban workers, which can steadily raise pension levels and connect with or transition to urban basic pension schemes.

Thus, the pension for the older generation of farmers should rely solely on government-funded basic pensions, with a more welfare-oriented focus; while middle-aged and future farmers should participate in a multi-party shared social pension insurance system, emphasizing social insurance features. This is a more reasonable approach.

Shandong Yiyuan County, Nanma Street, Buxia Village, villagers resting at the community activity square. Xinhua News Agency file photo.

Southern Metropolis Daily: Let’s start with the very old farmers. Why is it necessary to prioritize increasing their pension benefits?

Zheng Gongcheng: Increasing farmers’ pensions is an inevitable trend and is widely recognized. But considering the country’s fiscal capacity and sustainability, I recommend prioritizing the enhancement of basic pensions for the very old farmers, who are the most vulnerable and representative group. From a historical and intergenerational perspective, their contributions should be compensated, and this urgency is clear.

After the founding of New China, under conditions of widespread poverty and hardship, the country’s industrialization was built on the sacrifices of hundreds of millions of farmers. Their contributions included not only supplying food and agricultural products but also participating directly in national construction through the voluntary work system—“义务工” (voluntary labor)—before reform and opening up. These contributions, often unpaid, played a crucial role in China’s industrialization and the initial accumulation of national wealth. Their labor results are embedded in current state assets. We cannot ignore this historical fact. The state has a responsibility to compensate through increased basic pensions or targeted subsidies.

Post-reform and opening up, urbanization accelerated rapidly. Most urban workers come from rural areas, and migrant workers often have dual identities. If their insurance contributions do not benefit their previous rural generations, the intergenerational solidarity foundation of the basic pension system is undermined. This also hampers the motivation of migrant workers to participate in social insurance and affects the sustainability of the pension system. As the very old farmers gradually lose their ability to work and their living costs rise with age, it becomes even more urgent to increase their basic pension levels.

Southern Metropolis Daily: How can we accurately implement this historical contribution subsidy?

Zheng Gongcheng: A “rural voluntary work deemed as contribution” recognition mechanism can be established. Referencing urban workers’ “deemed contribution years,” for rural seniors who participated in water conservancy, transportation infrastructure, and other public works before the responsibility system, an additional “historical contribution pension” can be granted. This subsidy aims to recognize and reward their historical contributions, compensate for the lack of personal account accumulation, and improve their late-life living conditions and healthcare needs. Digital technology should be used to ensure no one is missed in distribution, simplify application and verification procedures, and provide door-to-door services for the elderly with mobility issues, making good policies accessible to every senior.

On March 3, residents of Mituo Temple Village, Duanjiahe Town, Xunyang City, Shaanxi Province, were harvesting konjac in the local industrial park. Xinhua News Agency photo by Shao Rui.

Using fiscal funds and collective economy to increase subsidies for farmers’ insurance

Southern Metropolis Daily: You mentioned providing welfare pensions for the older generation of farmers. Why do you call them “welfare” pensions?

Zheng Gongcheng: This relates to the original purpose of the residents’ pension insurance system. Rural residents’ basic pension insurance started in 2009, adopting a “welfare + insurance” model. The pension benefits consist of two parts: one is the fully government-funded basic pension, which is welfare-oriented; the other is personal contributions, which are insurance-based. This model, supported by initial government investment, quickly achieved full coverage and expanded to non-employed urban residents, marking a historic leap from “nothing” to “having” in rural and urban residents’ pension systems by 2012—a significant progress.

However, this model also exposes shortcomings: from the pilot to 2023, the average monthly basic pension increased from 55 yuan to 103 yuan, only a 48 yuan increase over 14 years. In the past three years, it increased by 20 yuan annually, reaching 163 yuan by 2026. Even with personal contributions included, the total average pension remains just over 200 yuan. High-age farmers, with little or no personal pension savings, rely solely on the basic pension, which is below 200 yuan—far from meeting their basic living needs. Future reforms must focus on addressing this issue.

Southern Metropolis Daily: How can we improve the willingness of middle-aged and young rural residents to pay contributions and increase their future pensions?

Zheng Gongcheng: Simply increasing subsidies can motivate more people to participate. Many suggest directly raising the basic pension payout standards, which would be a fiscal “outflow.” But from an incentive and sustainability perspective, fiscal funds should instead be used to “increase the inflow”—that is, to subsidize individual contributions. By increasing support for contributions, we can encourage more participation and higher contribution levels, thereby raising future pensions. This is a sustainable approach. Besides fiscal subsidies, collective economic organizations can also help subsidize farmers’ insurance payments. When there are shared entities responsible for contributions, farmers’ willingness to participate will increase, and their future pensions will grow steadily.

In any country, basic pension insurance is a public good aimed at social fairness. Even in the most capitalist country, the U.S., the public pension replacement rate averages about 35%. High-income earners have lower replacement rates, while low-income earners have higher ones, reflecting the public and equitable nature of pensions. In China’s three major systems, individual contributions account for about a quarter of total funding; government agencies and institutions rely mainly on state fiscal funding; residents’ basic pensions are entirely funded by the government. This objective fact invalidates the “more paid-in, more received” logic. Such policies tend to favor the powerful, violating principles of fairness.

Therefore, during the 14th Five-Year Plan, it is crucial to gradually narrow the pension gap among the three groups and reduce disparities across different regions and levels within the same group. Clear timelines and roadmaps should be established. This is a necessary response to public demands and real issues, and it is essential for strengthening the credibility of the basic pension system and gaining public trust.

Report by Nandu Video reporters Song Chenghan and Yang Wenjun from Beijing.