Last time I mentioned that my mother was scammed; she believed someone who said that social security pensions could be paid in a lump sum, and she ended up losing 100,000 yuan.
Of course, I eventually got that money back.
Some people think that since the money can be recovered, it’s not a scam.
This line of thinking is mistaken; on the contrary, when have you ever seen money paid to the government easily refunded?
They have a strict procedure in place. For instance, regarding pension back payments, it must be properly coordinated with the social security bureau.
If my mother directly sought help from someone in her social circle who claimed to handle social security nationwide, there’s a high probability that it’s either a scam or a serious violation.
When it comes to pension back payments, many people are quite confused. There are indeed policies for one-time payments in many places, but there are also many scams. What’s the real situation?
Today, I will systematically outline the latest policies for everyone.
First, our country’s social security pensions are divided into two types: urban employee basic pensions and rural resident basic pensions.
1. Urban Employee Basic Pension
This is aimed at employed individuals and those whose pensions are paid by their companies.
There are two scenarios for one-time back payments:
(1) Individuals who joined the insurance after the implementation of the Social Security Law on July 1, 2011, cannot make back payments and can only pay annually.
If they have not paid for 15 years by the retirement age, they can either apply for delayed retirement with their employer, allowing the company to continue paying social security until they reach 15 years, or they can switch back to their hometown’s rural resident pension insurance, pay for insurance themselves, and then make back payments according to its rules (which will be discussed below).
(2) Individuals who were insured before the implementation of the Social Security Law on July 1, 2011, can make a one-time back payment to meet the 15-year requirement if they still do not have enough after extending their payment for 5 years by the retirement age.
Basically, those who are employed do not need to worry too much about not reaching 15 years, so scams related to this are relatively rare.
2. Rural Resident Pension Insurance (New Rural Pension)
This mainly targets individuals without employment who pay for their own pensions.
The back payment policies vary by region, and the content also differs slightly.
For example, the regulations released in Shanghai at the end of last year state:
Before reaching 60 years of age, and if at the time the new rural pension system was implemented, the individual had not yet reached 15 years until they could start receiving pensions, they can apply for a one-time back payment.
Other places are generally similar; if you need specifics, just go directly to the social security bureau to inquire.
I mainly want to discuss the commonalities and practical considerations across regions:
(1) Generally, you must be under 60 years old to make back payments.
(2) Typically, if the individual was over 60 years old when the new rural pension was implemented, they do not need to make back payments and can directly receive money; if the individual has not reached the pension age of 15 years, they can make back payments; if over 15 years, they cannot.
(3) The implementation time of the new rural pension varies by region; some started 10 years ago, others 11 years ago, etc. You can call the local social security bureau for inquiries.
(4) The time windows for making back payments vary by region, so you need to pay attention; you can follow the local human resources and social security public account or official website.
Another question is, how much do you need to pay for back payments?
The policy is tiered, ranging from 300 to 9,000 yuan/year depending on the region; currently, the highest tier in Beijing is 9,000 yuan/year.
The more you pay, the more you receive; everyone can choose based on their financial situation.
For example, I know someone who pays 3,000 yuan/year, totaling 45,000 yuan for 15 years of back payments.
Speaking of 45,000, there was a popular promotion online that claimed you could make a one-time back payment of 45,000 yuan and start receiving 1,523 yuan monthly the next month.
Many people excitedly called the social security bureau to inquire, and some even got scammed because of it.
Note that for the new rural pension back payments, we can calculate how much we can receive; the formula is quite simple:
Monthly Amount = Basic Account + Personal Account / 139.
The basic account consists of government subsidies, which vary by region; the national minimum is 98 yuan, and based on this, each region adjusts accordingly.
Currently, the highest in Shanghai is 1,300 yuan per month, while others are generally in the hundreds; for example, Xi’an is 145 yuan.
The personal account is the amount we pay for back payments; for instance, if we pay 45,000 yuan, the personal account is 45,000 yuan.
The number 139 is a fixed figure derived from the average remaining lifespan of the population over 60 years old in our country, which is 139 months.
Using this formula, if you want to receive 1,523 yuan monthly after making a back payment of 45,000 yuan, the local government would need to subsidize 1,199 yuan to make it sufficient.
It’s likely that only Beijing and Shanghai can achieve this; in other places, it’s basically impossible.
So, everyone can do a quick calculation based on local conditions to determine whether it’s a legitimate offer or a scam.
That’s about it for pension back payments.
I recommend that those who can make back payments should do so, as it provides a stable cash flow in old age.
It may not be the most cost-effective option, but for the elderly, having a pension is more important than the cost-effectiveness of the matter.
For example, my mother, despite the risk of being scammed, still wants to have a pension; she doesn’t understand what IRR is; she just wants to have money to receive every month.
When she goes out to chat with her old friends, she feels secure, and when something comes up, she doesn’t have to ask me for money every time.