Don’t panic if your social insurance lapses: pension is calculated cumulatively, medical insurance is restored per rules
Pension is counted by cumulative years, not continuous years; an interruption does not clear the count. At retirement age, a cumulative full 15 years is enough for monthly payments. For employee medical insurance, once the required years are met you need not pay after retirement; the years differ by place. What a lapse affects are two things: after resident medical insurance is restarted there is a stretch when care is not reimbursed, and local home purchase, hukou, and points schemes often require continuous contributions. Starting in 2030, the employee pension minimum contribution period gradually rises to 20 years.
No cost at all. Residents can pay for pension and medical…
Basic pension is calculated from the total years of contribution;
No cost at all. Residents can pay for pension and medical insurance on an annual basis. If you’re an employee and your coverage lapses, there’s no need to spend money on third‑party “affiliation” services just to keep the record intact.
Basic pension is calculated from the total years of contribution; gaps in payment do not erase prior credits. At retirement, anyone with at least 15 years of cumulative contributions qualifies for a regular pension. Those short of the mark can keep paying until they reach it. If you change jobs across different administrative regions, your pension record travels with you and continues to accrue. Employees who meet the national minimum contribution period for medical insurance are exempt from further payments after retirement. For residents, a lapse triggers a waiting period: after resuming payments, there’s a temporary window during which medical expenses won’t be reimbursed (see item 9 for details; nationwide). From January 1, 2030, the minimum contribution period for employees to receive a monthly pension rises by 6 months each year, gradually reaching 20 years.
全国人大常委会 (2010, 2018 修正). 社会保险法（第十六、十九、二十七条）. https://www.gov.cn/guoqing/2021-10/29/content_5647616.htm；国务院办公厅 (2024). 关于健全基本医疗保险参保长效机制的指导意见（国办发〔2024〕38 号）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202408/content_6965741.htm；全国人民代表大会常务委员会 (2024). 关于实施渐进式延迟法定退休年龄的决定（附件《国务院关于渐进式延迟法定退休年龄的办法》第二条）. https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202409/content_6974294.htm
Open source linkThe years after which employee medical insurance needs no further payment in retirement are written in law as “years prescribed by the state”; local figures differ, and men and women often differ too. Call 12393 or ask the local medical insurance bureau. Lapses mainly affect local eligibility that requires continuous months of payment — home purchase, hukou, points — each set locally; check locally. Paying someone to park you on a fake payroll and contribute on your behalf can lose the money and carry legal risk; it is not advised. How to transfer pension and medical relationships when changing cities, and not to withdraw coverage — see Section 19, item 19 (transfer pension and medical relationships to the new insured place). From 2030 the 15-year line rises by 6 months each year toward 20 years; how to count the cost of paying yourself is in Section 5, item 46 (paying employee old-age insurance yourself).