CHINA’S Ministry of Labor and Social Security announced Wednesday that the pensions for enterprise retirees would be raised from Jan. 1, 2009, the Oriental Morning Post said yesterday.

The increase will be around 110 yuan (US$16) per person every month, or roughly 10 percent of the local average pension for retirees of enterprises, the ministry said last week.

But it is up to the local governments to formulate detailed plans, which still need approval from the Central Government before implementation, the ministry said.

This is the fifth consecutive year that China has raised the pension for retirees of enterprises. Those covered by the plan will be retirees who have completed retirement formalities by Dec. 31, the report said.

The biggest increase of about 200 yuan per month would be seen in Beijing, while the smallest of 55 yuan would be in Anhui Province in Southeast China, the Economic Observer newspaper said last week.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance are working together to ensure the increases will be available before the Spring Festival holidays in late January.

The Ministry of Finance set aside 126.3 billion yuan this year to enhance the pension system for 42 million retirees of enterprises, earlier reports said. (Jane Lai)