The temperate rules regarding basic endowment insurance for employees in public institutions was issued officially on March 10th and will take effect on April 1st. It is a fundamental reform to the endowment insurance for these employees.

The reform made the public ins titutions of total allocation, balance allocation and self-support covered under the endowment insurance. the public institutions will pay the premium for their employees and establish the endowment insurance funds for them. That is different from the earlier practice, in which the retirement pension was paid by the fiscal allocation. In this way, the burden of the government is well balanced and the employees' retirement pension is better guaranteed.

The reform will abide by the principals of smooth transformation from old to new systems and meanwhile the same treatment level will be maintained. Individual premium payment will account for 3% of personal salary in 2003, and increase one percent each year till it reaches 8% of the total salary. Employees now turn a portion of their income over to a social endowment fund regularly and will get a pension from the fund when they retire. Starting in the early 1980s, when the country launched its reform and opening-up policy, the endowment system began to change accordingly. The State-investment system gradually altered into being a publicly invested one.(QDTV__Seven Days)