On December 12, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other five departments issued the "Notice on the Comprehensive Implementation of the Personal Pension System". Starting from December 15, the personal pension system will be rolled out from 36 pioneer cities (regions) to the whole country.

The so-called personal pension is a supplementary pension insurance system in which individuals voluntarily participate, operate in a market-oriented manner and are supported by national policies. Individuals voluntarily deposit a sum of money in a specific account, no more than 12,000 yuan per year. While enjoying tax incentives, they can also obtain income by purchasing related financial products.

The notice requires optimizing product supply. On the basis of existing financial products such as wealth management products, savings deposits, commercial pension insurance, and public funds, treasury bonds will be included in the scope of personal pension products, and specific pension savings and index funds will be included in the personal pension product catalog.

The notice proposes that financial institutions recommend appropriate personal pension products based on personal investment risk preference and age. Financial institutions are encouraged to explore the development of default investment services with consensus with participants.

The notice clarifies that financial institutions must do a good job in publicizing the asset allocation of personal pension products and determining the risk level in accordance with regulations. The personal pension information management service platform and the financial industry platform display personal pension products according to risk levels and strengthen risk warnings.

The notice also adds the situation of early receipt. In addition to reaching the basic pension age, completely losing the ability to work, and settling abroad (border), participants who suffer from serious illness, meet certain conditions for receiving unemployment insurance, or are receiving the minimum living security, can apply for early receipt of personal pension.

The collection method will also be more flexible. Participants can choose to receive personal pensions on a monthly, installment or lump sum basis, and can make changes.

"Moderately improving the flexibility and tolerance of the system in the collection stage will help reduce the worries of participants. At the same time, in the accumulation stage, participants can be more motivated to participate and have confidence in long-term investment." Sun Bo, chief pension finance expert of Principal Financial Group China, said that personal pension is a part of the pension security system, and its main goal is to help participants accumulate more pension assets. Therefore, the funds in personal pension accounts are required to be closed until retirement except in special circumstances.