Steady growth! New premiums for this type of pension finance business reach a record high

As an innovative business pilot for pension insurance companies, the commercial pension business has achieved year-by-year growth over the past three years.

Some personnel from pension insurance companies told Securities Times that for emerging pension financial services, commercial pensions have maintained steady growth, focusing on stability to match pension funds, and overall development is in line with expectations.

Steady Growth Over the Three-Year Pilot Period

According to industry exchange data obtained by Securities Times, by 2025, the new scale of commercial pension business will exceed 160 billion yuan, representing significant year-over-year growth.

Commercial pension business is an innovative type of commercial pension insurance conducted by pension insurance companies. It started as a pilot in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and other 10 provinces (cities) from January 1, 2023. Four pension insurance companies participated in the pilot, including PICC Pension, China Life Pension, Taiping Pension, and Guomin Pension.

Over the past three years, the new contributions and the ongoing scale of commercial pensions have steadily increased. Based on data released by the Financial Regulatory Administration and industry exchange information, in 2023, the total number of commercial pension accounts opened exceeded 590,000, with a scale of about 18 billion yuan; by the end of 2024, the total number of accounts reached 1.955 million, with a scale of about one trillion yuan.

Some pilot pension insurance companies have announced their latest business information. Among them, China Life Pension revealed at the beginning-of-year work conference that in 2025, its commercial pension business will maintain the largest market share in terms of existing scale and active accounts. Guomin Pension disclosed that in 2025, sales of commercial pension business reached 46.32 billion yuan, an increase of about 30% compared to 2024. PICC Pension’s top five commercial pension products by sales in the first three quarters of 2025 totaled nearly 23.8 billion yuan, three times the end-of-2024 stock scale of 7.5 billion yuan.

As an important category of the third pillar of pension insurance, the development of commercial pension business is supported by policy guidance and is also valued by pension insurance companies. Since the pilot began, most companies have dedicated departments for commercial pensions and actively built sales channels through both proprietary and third-party networks. Currently, online platforms and banking channels are the main sales channels for commercial pensions.

“Dual Accounts + Products” Combination

As an innovative type of pension insurance product, commercial pensions mainly serve retirement needs. Its prominent feature is providing retirement planning services, with a “dual account + product” structure, and certain term requirements. The “ongoing account” considers liquidity needs and is relatively flexible; the “locked account” is aimed at long-term investment reserves and can only be accessed after age 60.

Each contribution to a commercial pension must allocate a certain proportion to the locked account. The minimum allocation ratio varies from 5% to 40% depending on age. The higher the age, the higher the minimum ratio required for the locked account. For example, individuals aged 18-30 are required to allocate at least 5%, while those aged 50-60 need to allocate at least 40%.

Yan Huanghai, director of the Jin’an Pension Research Center, explained to Securities Times that commercial pensions are not just a product concept but more like a “personal pension plan.” This business includes two types of accounts, each with different style features, such as varying terms, risks, and liquidity.

A market focus is a special type of product within commercial pensions called “three-year principal protection” products, which are guaranteed principal products with a rolling three-year term. These three-year principal protection products have become a “selling point” for commercial pensions. According to disclosures from China Life Pension and PICC Pension of their top-selling products in the first three quarters of 2025, two of the top five are three-year principal protection products.

These products guarantee the principal for each three-year cycle, meaning that on the day the contribution completes three years, the principal is protected, and the insurance company guarantees this in the contract. These three-year principal protection products correspond to the “locked account” products, which generally can only be accessed after age 60.

Industry insiders say that regulators encourage pension insurance companies to develop long-term business, and these products align with this policy direction. In the future, products with five-year or ten-year rolling guarantees may also emerge. Currently, during the initial phase of product innovation, most companies mainly offer three-year rolling products to gauge market acceptance.

(Edited by: Liu Sijia)

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