Flexible workers must arrange pension and health insurance at their place of work; policy requires lifting household-registration restrictions, with some megacities doing so gradually.

You must pay the full amount for both pension and medical insurance yourself, calculated based on the local contribution base — often over a thousand yuan per month. The contribution base is simply the benchmark figure used to determine premiums. This is the most easily overlooked recurring expense on this path, and the difficulty lies in making those payments on time every month.

These provisions stem from the “Guiding Opinions on Protecting the Labor Rights and Interests of Workers in New Forms of Employment.” It states: “All regions must lift household registration restrictions so flexible workers can enroll in basic pension and medical insurance at their place of work; for exceptionally large cities where full implementation isn’t immediately feasible, local authorities should create conditions for gradual rollout. Employers must be urged to enroll workers in social insurance per the law. Workers who don’t qualify for standard employee pension or medical plans should be guided to enroll in urban/rural resident programs to ensure full coverage. For those operating independently via platforms, rights and obligations are governed by civil law.” (National policy, effective 2021)

人力资源社会保障部等八部门 (2021). 关于维护新就业形态劳动者劳动保障权益的指导意见（人社部发〔2021〕56 号，第二、八条）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-07/23/content_5626761.htm；国务院办公厅 (2020). 关于支持多渠道灵活就业的意见（国办发〔2020〕27 号）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2020-07/31/content_5531613.htm

The original says “lift” household registration restrictions and leaves an exception for very large cities; it does not say they have “already been abolished nationwide.” Ask the city where you intend to enroll how far the restrictions have been lifted. The benefit is rated “high” because interrupted contributions cost you pension and medical benefits themselves, worth far more than ten thousand yuan. But the cost is real too: paying the full amount yourself costs over a thousand yuan a month. For how to make up missed social insurance contributions and accumulate contribution years, see Section 7, item 18 (interrupted social insurance contributions). For how to transfer pension and medical insurance after moving to another city, see Section 19, item 19 (transfer pension and medical insurance to your new place of enrollment). For which contribution tier to choose when paying into employee pension insurance yourself, and how many years of pension payments it takes to break even, see Section 5, item 46 (paying into employee pension insurance yourself). Also, selling agricultural products and daily necessities at government-designated places and times, or using your own skills to provide convenient services that legally require no permit, does not require a business license. This is stated in State Council General Office Document No. 27 (2020).