On February 7, Premier Li Keqiang chaired a State Council executive meeting, which decided to merge the new rural social pension insurance and urban residents' social pension insurance to establish a unified national basic pension insurance system for urban and rural residents. In this context, what is the current pension situation of migrant workers—this group of people who have moved from rural areas to cities? How should the pension situation they will face in the future be improved?

 

　　Helpless: Two 'social security nets' cannot catch migrant workers

 

　　In 2013, the total number of migrant workers in China reached 269 million. Throughout China's development process, they are a force that cannot be ignored, whether in the past, present, or future. Currently, migrant workers participating in urban social security have two options: residents' pension insurance and employees' pension insurance. However, many migrant workers today often feel confused in front of these two 'social security nets,' as if they are 'neither high nor low.'

 

　　'Residents' insurance benefits are low, employees' insurance threshold is high'

 

　　The two 'social security nets' struggle to catch migrant workers—this is a real problem discovered by Banyuetan reporters during interviews: although in policy design, both urban employees' pension insurance and residents' pension insurance are fully open to migrant workers, for some migrant workers, the problem of 'unwilling to participate in residents' pension insurance and high threshold for employees' pension insurance' has emerged.

 

　　In Chongqing, rural and urban residents' pension insurance operates under a 'merged track,' with consistent payment standards and identical government subsidies, collectively called urban and rural residents' pension insurance. In labor-intensive districts such as Jiangjin and Hechuan, Banyuetan reporters interviewed nearly 40 migrant workers and learned that fewer than 10 had participated in residents' pension insurance. Many said that although residents' pension insurance requires low contributions—set at five tiers from 100 to 900 yuan per year—after retiring at age 60, the basic pension is only 80 yuan per month. Many feel that such a standard can hardly provide security.

 

　　For urban employees' pension insurance, which has a high contribution base and high benefit standards, many migrant workers also face difficulties: first, they believe the threshold for urban employees' pension insurance is high and costly, and their own income is low, so they are unwilling to spend money on social security; second, some young and middle-aged migrant workers believe that social insurance can only be enjoyed after retirement, which is decades away, so there is no immediate sense of urgency to participate.

 

　　Liu Anping, a migrant worker at a mechanical abrasive tool factory in Tangxiang Street, Rongchang County, Chongqing, earns less than 3,000 yuan a month. Talking about the reason for not wanting to participate in employees' pension insurance, Liu Anping said: 'The social security contribution standard is high, averaging more than 200 yuan per month, which amounts to two to three thousand yuan a year. My family is not well-off, my child just started middle school, and the monthly living expenses are seven to eight hundred yuan. Spending money on social security—I feel I can't afford it.'

 

　　Chen Song, deputy director of the Social Insurance Bureau of Dianjiang County, Chongqing, did some calculations: in Dianjiang County, if a migrant worker participates in urban employees' pension insurance as an individual, the minimum monthly payment is more than 300 yuan, and the maximum is more than 750 yuan, which means 3,000 to 9,000 yuan a year. The social security contribution amount is not fixed every year; generally, the standard increases according to changes in the average wage of employees in the previous year. For migrant workers with an average monthly income of only two to three thousand yuan, the threshold for employees' pension insurance is relatively high.

 

　　According to surveys by social security departments in some districts and counties of Chongqing, the wage income of migrant workers is currently relatively lower than that of existing urban employees. If they participate in social security at the same standard, the actual social security contribution of migrant workers would account for more than 10% of their monthly wage. Many say the burden is heavy, and their enthusiasm for participation is not high.