China's social security for foreigners 在中国境内就业的外国人参加社会保险暂行办法正式实施

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Although they contribute to China's social security system, most foreigners working in China do not understand or know how to use the benefits. 

Foreigners express their opinions on whether or not China’s social security system has any benefits for them. Stephanie Tebow, a counselor at Harrow International School in Beijing, has been contributing to China's social security system for as long as she has been living and working in Beijing, just like any other Chinese resident. 

"It's mandatory for foreigners living in Beijing, so it's automatically taken out of my salary along with taxes. It adds up to about 20%-25% of my overall salary," Tebow said.

However, according to Tebow and other foreigners Metropolitan spoke to, they do not use the Chinese social security that they pay for because it is inconvenient and they do not know how to use it or what they paid for. 

In this article, Metropolitan will introduce the basics of China's social security system for foreigners, the newest policies and expat's opinions on social security in China.

China's social security for foreigners

Although Sofia (pseudonym), from the US, has been working in Beijing for two years and is contributing to China's social security system, she does not have a clue what she has been paying for. 

"I don't know much about the Chinese social security system, and I have never used it. So, I have no idea how useful it is for foreigners," she said. 

"I think medical insurance comes out of my pay every month, but I don't know about other fees. I just know that 20% of my salary goes toward taxes and other things," Sofia said.

However, Sofia does acknowledge that paying for social security in China is just as important as paying for it in her home country. 

It is good to have the money drawn from your pay because since you are here, you are a member of this country now, Sofia said. 

Besides if in the future you do decide to live here for the rest of your life, you will have something to rely on since you have been putting money into social security, she added.  

"I just wish that there was a way to find out more or a program that could educate expats on how to utilize or understand what the social security and taxes in China are used for and how it can benefit them," Sofia said. 

Iris Kuijken, a lawyer from Buren Legal, a Dutch law firm with offices in Shanghai and Beijing, explained the details for foreigner's participation in China's social security system. 

According to Kuijken, Chinese laws require foreigners working in China to participate in social insurance schemes. However, different regions apply different provisions. 

"In general, the employer and the foreigners shall pay five premiums: basic endowment insurance (pension), basic medical insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance and work-related injury insurance," Kuijken said.  

However, Kuijken noted that, in practice, there are no unemployment benefits for foreign employees in China, as foreigners not employed will not be permitted to continue living in the country.

The above rules do not apply for expats in regions like Shanghai, which has not adopted these national standards. Therefore, it is not mandatory for foreign employees in Shanghai to contribute to social insurance. 

As for foreigners who decide to move out of China, their money has not been spent in vain. 

"If the social insurance relationship is terminated with a written application from the foreigner, the deposit amount of the individual's social insurance account will be paid to the foreigner in a lump sum," she said. 

Other than the five social insurances, there is a Housing Fund in China. The fund allows employees to save money toward buying property or renting a house. The employer and employee will make equal contributions to the account, which is usually between five and 25% of the employee's annual income from the previous year.

However, the Housing Fund can only be withdrawn to make a down payment, purchase a property, conduct construction or renovations on a property or to pay back a mortgage.

According to the Measures for Entitlements of Foreigners with Permanent Residency in China, which was issued in 2012, foreign employees with a permanent residency can use their Housing Fund like Chinese employees. Foreigners without a permanent resident visa can still withdraw the money and the procedure is the same as Chinese employees, according to the official website of the Beijing Housing Fund Management Center.

Not easy to maneuver

For Tebow, although she has been paying social security for the past 10 years, she has not learned how to benefit from it. 

When she goes to local hospitals, she is automatically sent to the international department, which is usually paid for separately. Therefore, she always pays in cash or uses a foreign insurance policy she bought that covers general consultation, prescriptions and major surgeries in international hospitals or a local hospital's international department.

"I pay into the Housing Fund every month, but I am not allowed to use it since I am not a Chinese citizen or hold a Chinese green card. I can't use it to rent an apartment, and I don't know if I can use it to buy a house since I haven't asked about it before," Tebow said. "It's just not very useful to foreigners." 

There are some rare cases Tebow observed where foreigners can utilize the social security system. She said one of her friends works for a Chinese employer in Beijing and she pays Chinese social security based on her taxes. 

She will go to local Chinese hospitals without an international department and pays for her treatment and medicine first, and then her employer reimburses her.  

"Her employer helps her communicate with the Chinese doctors and takes care of the reimbursement process," Tebow said. "The Chinese hospitals she went to were all very good, clean, had highly skilled surgeons and the nurses even helped her order food."

However, in most cases, foreigners have frustrating experiences using the Chinese social security in local Chinese hospitals. 

"Because we can't communicate with the doctors and other hospital staff, it's very challenging for us to see doctors, let alone figure out the Chinese medical insurance," Tebow said. "I guess one's workplace plays a big role in a foreign employee's ability to utilize China's social security."

However, Tebow is glad to know that if a foreigner ever decides to leave the country they can get a refund and get some of their money back. 

Exemption plans

The Chinese government also provides expatriate employees who are nationals of countries that have entered into bilateral or multilateral social security agreements with China exemptions on certain social security items.

Starting in October, five new countries have entered into such agreement with China. Previously, only Germany and South Korea had such agreements. 

Now the list has expanded to Denmark, Canada, Finland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, according to a report in October. 

In turn, Chinese employees sent to participating countries will also be exempt from making the relevant social insurance contributions there.

According to the report, China has also signed agreements with France and Spain but those agreements are not in effect yet. 

The report also introduced the process to apply for exemptions. 

According to the report, companies with foreign employees are required to apply to related bureaus for exemption. The entity that employs the foreign employee in China must submit original certification of insurance issued by a relevant entity in the country of origin to the local Chinese social insurance bureau. This will then be verified and a copy will be held on record. Following verification of this documentation, and possible further verification and certification, the employee in question will be exempt from the relevant social insurance payments, the report wrote. 

"I think this policy is very good, and it can help foreign employers and employees to save on costs. It will surely attract more foreigners to work in China and encourage companies to hire more foreign workers," Tebow said. 

"I hope these policies will extend to the US soon because for us, while we pay social security in China, we still need to file taxes in the US as well," she said.

在中国境内就业的外国人参加社会保险暂行办法正式实施

《在中国境内就业的外国人参加社会保险暂行办法》近日正式实施。据人力资源和社会保障部统计，去年末，仅持《外国人就业证》在华工作的外国人就超过了23万人。外国驻华使馆、外国商会和雇用外籍员工较多的内、外资企业及外籍员工对此十分关注。

有些机构和外国人反映，在中国就业的很多外籍员工已经在其本国按照法定要求或自愿缴费参加了社会保险，如果这些员工被要求同时在中国缴费参加社会保险，那么就造成了重复参保，导致费用增加。

人社部有关负责人解释说，为给予在本国就业的非本国国籍人员国民待遇、切实保障他们在就业国的社会保险权益，同时避免出现两国企业及其员工重复参保缴费等情况，国际上通行做法是开展双边或多边谈判，通过签署政府间包括双方互免条款的社会保险协议加以解决。早在2001年、2003年，中国政府就已分别同德国、韩国签署了社会保险双边协定，对双方驻在国人员互相免缴特定的社会保险费用作出了相关规定。协议签订以来执行情况良好。《社会保险法》特别是《暂行办法》颁布之后，一些国家（如日本、比利时、法国等）向我提出通过商签双边社保协定解决本国公民双重缴纳社会保险费问题的要求，我们对此持积极态度，正在准备并推进与有关国家政府启动社会保险互免谈判，以妥善解决双重缴费问题。

有外籍员工担心由于对退休年龄的规定不一样，以及他们绝大多数人会在退休前就离开中国，以致发生缴了费但难以拿到退休金的情况。人社部有关负责人解释说，关于外国人如何享受养老保险待遇，《社会保险法》和《暂行办法》已有明确规定，参保外国人达到我国规定的领取养老金法定条件的，依法享受养老保险待遇。《暂行办法》同时规定，外国人在达到规定的领取养老金年龄前离境的，其社会保险个人账户予以保留，再次来中国就业的，缴费年限累计计算；经本人书面申请终止社会保险关系的，也可以将其养老保险个人账户储存额一次性支付给本人；外国人死亡的，其养老保险个人账户余额可以依法继承。

有人提出，《暂行办法》的实施将导致聘用外国人的企业、机构和团体增加费用，可能会增加这些单位的财务压力，同时也可能会对中国吸引外资和外籍人才产生一定负面影响。

人社部有关负责人认为，要求在本国就业的外籍人员参保缴费是国际惯例，是为了维护外籍员工的社会保险权益。

其次，在《社会保险法》颁布之前，因为相关法律法规不明确，外国人参加社会保险工作并未普遍开展，用人单位招用的外国人不缴纳社会保险费，成本更低，造成不同用人单位之间用工的不平等竞争。《社会保险法》出台后，所有企业均应依法履行缴纳社会保险费义务，并未增加额外的负担。

再次，将在中国就业的外国人纳入社会保险覆盖范围是对外籍员工特别是人才的福利保障，更有利于维护他们的社会保险权益。因此，不存在影响人才引进工作的问题。

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