Pension plan for foreigners

SOME foreigners who sign up to a new social security system will be allowed to retire in China so they can claim their pensions, Xinhua news agency said yesterday, offering details of a new tax that foreign businesses fear will push up costs.

The government has so far given only basic details about the scheme, which all foreigners who work in China are supposed to have started paying into from October.

Foreign executives in China have expressed concern that the tax will increase already rising costs, and that the plan is too vague and will be hard for companies to implement.

One of those concerns has been that foreigners will not be able to access money from unemployment benefits or pensions because work visas are tied to jobs and become invalid when a person is no longer employed.

Citing an unidentified Beijing social security official, Xinhua said the government had made a decision on pensions at least.

"Those foreigners who contribute to social insurance and fulfil conditions will get social security, and will be able to, for example, retire in China and draw a pension," the report said, without providing details of how that might happen.

Money will also be paid back upon "written application at the end of the social insurance relationship," it said. Otherwise, the money will be kept "until (the person) returns to work again in China."

Of the 30,000 foreigners working in Beijing, only 2,000 had so far registered to pay the new tax, it said.

Foreigners are also expected to pay contributions from October, although many local tax bureaus have said they are still unsure how to collect the money.

China's rules will make it more like policies in many European Union countries, where citizens and foreigners alike pay into the system. China's existing social security net offers meager protection for its citizens, compared to schemes in Europe.