China's mandatory social insurance system — comprising pension (养老保险), medical insurance (医疗保险), unemployment insurance (失业保险), work injury insurance (工伤保险), and maternity insurance (生育保险) — requires contributions from both employers and employees, including foreign nationals employed under standard Chinese labour contracts.
When a foreign national permanently leaves China and wishes to recover their accumulated pension contributions, the relevant regulation is the 'Interim Measures for the Participation of Foreigners Employed in China in Social Insurance' issued in 2011 and subsequent provincial implementation rules. Under these measures, foreign nationals who have left China (with no intention of returning to Chinese employment) may apply for a one-time lump-sum refund of their personal pension account balance (个人账户, gèrén zhànghù).
The personal pension account holds approximately 8% of salary contributions made by the individual (the employer's contribution of approximately 16–20% goes to a pooled fund and is not refundable to individuals). The accumulated balance in the personal account, including notional interest applied by the government, is refundable upon application.
The application process is typically made at the local Social Security Bureau (社会保险局) in the city where the contributions were made. Required documentation includes the foreign passport, residence permit or visa documentation, Chinese work permit, social insurance contribution records (obtainable from the employer's HR department), and a departure record confirming the individual has left or is leaving China.
China has concluded Totalization Agreements on social security with several countries (Germany, South Korea, Finland, Denmark, Canada, Japan, among others as of 2026). Nationals of countries with totalization agreements may have the option to exempt themselves from Chinese social insurance contributions or to have their Chinese contribution years credited toward home-country pension entitlements — this is preferable for long-assignment individuals and should be investigated before the assignment starts.