A visitor learns about a continuous positive airway pressure therapy device at the Medical Equipment & Healthcare Products exhibition area during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
Pension finance will increasingly play a structural role in addressing population aging, as predicted by Wang Xiangnan, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciencesand author of "Finance for Aging China," in a recent interview with China.org.cn.
"The government will face a substantial burden in social security, which could translate into large hidden debt," Wang said, noting that fiscal spending must simultaneously cover essential areas such as medical insurance, long-term care and the prevention of elderly poverty.
The urgency behind the push is largely demographic. According to a report jointly released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Office of the China National Committee on Ageing, China's population aged 60 and above reached 310 million by the end of 2024, accounting for 22% of the total population. Projections suggest that by around 2035, this figure will exceed 400 million, pushing the proportion beyond 30%.
jrhz.infoWang's analysis provides critical context for recent policy moves. When China's top leadership outlined the development of the "five finance" agenda, including pension finance in late 2023, it set a strategic direction. That emphasis was reinforced in December 2024, when the People's Bank of China and eight other government departments jointly issued a document aimed at strengthening financial support for the pension system and promoting the high-quality development of the silver economy.
"Through market-based mechanisms, finance can help redistribute resources across time, taking on part of the responsibility for old-age security that has traditionally fallen on governments and families," Wang said. This approach, he added, provides households with more tools to prepare for longer lifespans, while easing the fiscal burden on the state.
This structural role is being operationalized through China's three-pillar pension system. It consists of a basic public pension, enterprise annuities and occupational pensions for government employees, as well as a voluntary private pension scheme. The country's 15th Five-Year Plan formulation recommendations have reiterated the task of moving faster to develop the multi-tiered, multi-pillar old-age insurance system.
In recent years, financial institutions across China have rolled out a growing range of pension-related products. These include commercial pension insurance, pension-focused wealth management products, long-term care insurance, pension funds and pension trusts. Some banks have also experimented with new approaches to improving financial literacy among older consumers, tailoring outreach to formats and platforms more familiar to retirees.
Wang said advances in digital technology are expanding how these products are designed, delivered and safeguarded.
"Artificial intelligence and big data could be used to model individual life expectancy and health trajectories, enabling pension products to offer periodic and personalized portfolio advice."
He added that technologies such as machine vision, voiceprint recognition and behavioral analysis could improve the detection of fraud or coerced transfers targeting older people, allowing for earlier and more effective intervention.
However, Wang stressed that progress hinges on developing talent. The shortage of professionals who understand both finance and elderly care, he said, is constraining service quality and innovation. He called on universities to expand programs in elderly care, pension finance and the silver economy, and to strengthen industry-academia collaboration.
Beyond financial protection, Wang highlighted the economic potential of older adults themselves.
"By establishing innovation funds and talent information platforms for seniors, governments and institutions could better match experienced retirees with businesses, research bodies and social organizations. Digital payments and smart contracts could then help ensure timely compensation for services provided," Wang said. He added that such mechanisms would not only raise older people's willingness to consume but also support the gradual release of the silver economy's market potential.
He pointed in particular to the prospect of building integrated loops linking pensions with health care and elderly care industries. "Anchored by pension payments, these systems could stimulate consumption in areas such as age friendly home renovations, professional caregiving and senior tourism," Wang said.
