Retirees surpass contributors to China pension fund

Chinese people retired faster than new workers started paying into the country’s national pension fund last year, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The number of Chinese contributing to the urban pension fund rose 7% from a year earlier to 214 million in 2012 while the number of retired Chinese climbed 9.5% to 69 million, the ministry said on its website Tuesday. Payouts from the fund totaled $230 billion, up 23% from a year earlier, growing at a faster pace than contributions, which grew 19% to $301 billion.