灵活就业者参保难题：年轻时不想缴，想缴时领得少

灵活就业人员面临参保困境的恶性循环。1年轻阶段，由于生存压力大、收入不稳定，许多灵活就业者倾向于放弃参加社保。1到了年纪增长后，虽然产生了参保意愿，但此时缴费年限已经严重不足，最终可能导致退休后领取的养老金偏低。1

对此，人力资源社会保障部表示将重点鼓励灵活就业人员参加职工养老保险，同时建立用工方、平台企业、劳动者共同筹资的机制。1该部指出，缴费基数越高、年限越长，最终领取的金额就越多。1全国基本养老、失业、工伤保险的参保规模已位居全球首位。1

Flexible employment workers confront a persistent challenge in securing adequate retirement income, according to remarks by China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security at a State Council Information Office briefing on October 10, 2026 1. Many workers in this category defer pension contributions during their younger years due to survival pressures and unstable earnings, only to develop the motivation to participate later when their contribution history has become too short to yield substantial retirement payments 1. The ministry emphasized that pension benefits correlate directly with contribution levels and duration—higher contribution bases and longer payment records result in larger retirement payouts 1.

To address this structural problem, the ministry announced plans to prioritize encouraging flexible workers to enroll in the employee pension insurance system and to establish a cost-sharing mechanism involving employers, platform companies, and workers themselves 1. China's basic pension, unemployment, and work-injury insurance programs currently rank among the world's largest by enrollment 1. The issue has drawn sustained attention from policymakers, including National People's Congress representative Li Chengxia, who has advocated for several consecutive years to strengthen protections for flexible and new-form workers 1.