How is the Chinese basic pension calculated?

It has two parts. The pooled (basic) pension is roughly the average of the local average wage and your indexed personal wage, multiplied by your contribution years times 1%. The personal account pension is your accumulated 8% contributions divided by a fixed payout divisor — 139 months if you retire at 60. The two are added together.

What is the 139-month divisor?

When you retire, your personal account balance is converted to a monthly pension by dividing it by a nationally fixed number of months based on retirement age: 139 at age 60, 170 at 55, and 195 at 50. A higher retirement age means a smaller divisor and a larger monthly payment.

How much do I and my employer contribute?

Under the basic urban employee scheme the employee contributes 8% of wages into a personal account, while the employer contributes about 16% into the pooled social account. Only the employee's 8% builds the personal account that drives the personal-account pension.

What is the Pillar 3 private pension?

China's individual private pension lets you contribute up to ¥12,000 a year into a personal account, with those contributions tax-deductible. The pot is invested and paid out in retirement, supplementing the state pension. The calculator grows it at your chosen return and converts it to a rough monthly income.

Does this calculator store my data?

No. Everything is computed locally in your browser and nothing is uploaded, so you can plan your retirement privately.

China Pension & Retirement Calculator

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This China pension and retirement calculator projects the monthly income you can expect from China’s pension system, using its real two-part structure plus the voluntary private pillar.

How it works

China’s basic urban employee pension splits into two accounts. You contribute 8% of your wage into a personal account; your employer contributes about 16% into the pooled (social) account. Your monthly pension at retirement is the sum of two streams:

Basic (pooled) pension ≈ (local average wage + your indexed wage) ÷ 2 × contribution years × 1%
Personal account pension = personal account balance ÷ payout divisor

The payout divisor is fixed nationally by retirement age: 139 months at 60, 170 at 55, 195 at 50 — so retiring later both grows the balance and shrinks the divisor, lifting the monthly figure.

On top of the state pension, the calculator models the Pillar 3 individual private pension: voluntary contributions of up to ¥12,000 a year, grown at your chosen return into a pot and converted to a rough monthly income.

Example

A 30-year-old earning CNY 12,000/month, contributing until age 60 with 3% wage growth, builds a sizeable personal account. Dividing it by 139 gives the personal-account pension, which the tool adds to the pooled basic pension and a private pot of CNY 12,000/year. The result is shown as a total monthly pension and a replacement ratio against your final wage.

Notes

This is a simplified model: contribution caps, the local social-average wage base, and indexing rules vary by city and change over time, and the personal-account interest rate is set administratively. Use it to understand the structure and rough scale, not as an official benefit statement.