A survey was carried out by Ping An Annuity Insurance Company of China on the retirement pension scheme market recently.

The survey covered 36 large and medium-sized cities in China and 24,000 employees from various companies.  The respondents to the survey worked in different industries, for enterprises of various sizes, and were from different age groups.

The survey shows that 95.7% of respondents subscribe to the state’s mandatory basic pension scheme, but only 38.9% are members of enterprise annuity schemes while 45.9% have bought retirement protection products from commercial insurers.

The survey also focuses on the choice of investments of the respondents.  The majority of the respondents are conservative in their choice of investments.  For instance, one third of the respondents consider bank deposits as their most desirable form of retirement saving.  For choices that carry higher risks and return, such as funds, bonds and equities, only a quarter of the respondents accept them as tools to generate retirement income.

For further information on the retirement pension schemes’ market in China, please refer to the article published by Asia Insurance Review on 3 October 2013 here.