A picture says five years： social security benefits continue to improve and the days are more practical.

　　"Last year, the pension rose by 170 yuan, and this year it rose by 151 yuan. Now it is 3,787 yuan per month, and life is more secure." Song Lizhong, a 64-year-old retired worker in Benxi City, Liaoning Province, nodded. In recent years, the state has continuously raised pensions, which has made the old people feel a lot more secure.

　　This is the five years that social security coverage has been continuously expanded, and China has established the social security system with the largest population coverage in the world — —

　　By the end of 2016, the number of people participating in basic pension, unemployment, industrial injury and maternity insurance in China reached 888 million, 181 million, 219 million and 185 million respectively, and the number of people covered by basic medical insurance exceeded 1.3 billion. The dream of "universal medical insurance" came true. China’s achievements in expanding the coverage of social insurance have been fully affirmed and highly praised by the international community. In 2016, at the 32nd Global Congress of the International Social Security Association, the government of China was awarded the "Outstanding Achievement Award in Social Security", becoming the second country in the world to receive this honor.

　　This is a five-year period of continuous improvement of social security benefits, and the people share more of the fruits of development — —

　　The average monthly basic pension for enterprise retirees nationwide increased from 1686 yuan in 2012 to 2362 yuan in 2016, with an average annual increase of 8.8%. In 2017, the state continued to raise the pension at an average level of 5.5%. Serious illness insurance covers more than 1 billion urban and rural residents, and the payment ratio stipulated by the policy is not less than 50%.

　　This is a five-year period of continuous breakthroughs in social security reform, and the fairness and convenience of social security have been significantly improved — —

　　In China, the old-age insurance systems of government agencies, institutions and enterprises are merged, a unified basic old-age insurance system for urban and rural residents is established, and the basic medical insurance system for urban and rural residents is integrated. At present, the "expressway" for direct settlement of hospitalization expenses across provinces and different places has been fully completed, connecting all medical insurance co-ordination areas, and opening 7,226 designated medical institutions for direct settlement of hospitalization expenses across provinces and different places. Eligible insured people have bid farewell to "funding" and "running errands" since then.