The coverage of China's major social security programs, old-age, medical, maternity and industrial injury, expanded to reach 168.7 million, 130.3 million, 45.8 million and 73 million people by this June, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security on Tuesday.

The figures are, respectively, 5.15 million, 6.29 million, 1.95million and 4.57 million more than those of last year.

The statistics also show that the old-age insurance fund paid retirees a total of 172 billion yuan (20.8 billion US dollars) in the first half of the year and there were no records of delaying pensions throughout the country.

"The rapid economic development in recent years has contributedto the rise in the balance of the old-age insurance fund. The coverage of China's social security has been further enlarged," said the ministry's spokesman Hu Xiaoyi at a press conference.

China had 24.12 million, or 63.8 percent of retirees, cared forby residential communities by June.

Hu said that the ministry will further standardize the premium payment by employees of private enterprises or people with no fixed jobs and further enlarge the coverage of China's social security.

According to the statistics, China had 104.96 million people covered by unemployment insurance by June, with 4.03 million having received insurance payments.

"In the next half of the year,we will continue to promote the reemployment of the laid-off and steadily transform the system of basic life insurance for laid-off workers to the system of unemployment insurance before the end of this year." Hu said.

He pointed out that funds for old-age insurance, unemployment insurance and medical insurance had all increased rapidly in the first six months, amounting to 221.5 billion yuan (26.69 billion dollars), 14.9 billion yuan (1.8 billion dollars) and 63.5 billion yuan (7.65 billion dollars), respectively.

Source: Xinhua