The fiscal revenue and expenditure situation in 2024 announced by the Ministry of Finance shows that the national general public budget expenditure in 2024 exceeded 28 trillion yuan, of which the proportion of social security and employment expenditure increased further. Social security and employment expenditures have increased year by year in recent years. Where has this money been spent?

Unlike the narrow social security concepts such as medical insurance and pension insurance that we usually understand, in the "account book" of fiscal revenue and expenditure, social security and employment expenditures include pensions, employment assistance funds, social assistance, preferential and relief placement, etc., which are all "big social security" livelihood matters that are universal, basic and bottom-line, and are all concerns of the people.

In 2024, social security and employment expenditures will further increase, which is not a "sudden" change.

This is the result of my country's increasingly sound social security system, continuous expansion of coverage, and continuous improvement of the level of benefits -

It is both increasing and improving quality. Taking pension insurance as an example, in recent years, the coverage has been continuously expanded, with more than 1.07 billion people participating in it. Not only is it basically full coverage, but the pension standard has also been raised many times.

Fill in the shortcomings and promote balance. For example, from 2018 to 2023, the fiscal subsidy for the basic pension insurance fund increased by 300 billion yuan. This expenditure was mainly used to increase the basic pension for enterprise retirees in the central and western regions and old industrial bases, and to increase the national basic pension minimum standard for urban and rural residents in the central and western regions, etc.

"Building the world's largest social security system" is inseparable from the investment of real finance. From 2013 to 2024, the proportion of social security and employment expenditure in total general public budget expenditure increased from 10.3% to 14.8%. It can be said that this expenditure figure comes from the progress of "small jogging" and is a report card for continuously improving people's livelihood by "doing your best and doing what you can".

This is the positive and proactive result of macro-control -

Take the just-passed 2024 as an example. The focus of social security and employment funds is to support employment and entrepreneurship among key groups, support pensions to be paid on time and in full, help groups such as subsistence allowances, orphans, and disabled elderly people in need, provide pensions and resettlement of preferential treatment recipients and retired soldiers, and provide welfare services to the elderly, children, and the disabled. In 2024, 320 million people received pension money, more than 45 million people in need received monthly assistance, and thousands of workers who benefited from it solved their "rice bowl".

The numbers are abstract and have a real sense of gain.

"Last year, we received an employment reward of 347,800 yuan, and the labor cost was significantly reduced." "The government helped me apply for temporary relief funds, and the community also sent people to visit me regularly."... Faced with the complex and severe situation of increasing external pressure and increasing internal difficulties, fiscal expenditure has increased its efforts, and people's livelihood security has been stable, effectively stabilizing expectations, stabilizing the economy, and stabilizing the overall situation.

This is an objective manifestation of the change in population structure—

As my country's aging level deepens, the number of people receiving pensions has increased accordingly. Since 2018, the central government has raised the basic pension level of enterprise employees for many years and repeatedly raised the national basic pension minimum standard for urban and rural residents. The base is larger and the standards are raised, and the fiscal subsidy expenditure on basic pension insurance funds has also increased year by year.

Looking from another perspective, this "big social security" bill is our proactive action to adapt to changes in population structure and make social wealth distribution more tilted towards residents.

Social security funds are the "pension money" and "life-saving money" for the people, and they are related to the vital interests of the general public. There is still a clear account of "where to spend it".

In order to ensure the safety, efficiency and sustainability of funds, relevant departments have taken multiple measures. For example, the human resources and social security departments continue to improve the social security fund safety supervision system covering all insurance types and running through the entire process. The financial department implements regular supervision of social security funds such as pension, employment, and social assistance and conducts social security fund performance evaluation, so that "good steel is used on the edge."

There is no end to ensure and improve people's livelihood, only a continuous new starting point. This year, the government work report proposed to "promote more financial resources to 'invest in people' and serve people'" and once again raise the minimum standard for basic pension for urban and rural residents and the basic pension for retirees. We have reason to believe that the social security network will be more stable and firm, so that the results of modernization construction will benefit all people more and more equitably.