YOUNY CHINESE WHO
STOPPED PAYING SOCIAL SECURTITY

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, by the end of 2021, there were approximately 200 million flexible workers in China, and this number is still on the rise. For the vast group of flexible workers and those waiting to be employed, they need to pay social security on their own, with pension insurance and medical insurance accounting for the most significant portion. In cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the two cannot be paid separately, making social security a costly expense for the "difficult employment" group. Taking Shanghai as an example, flexible workers have to pay a minimum of 2555.8 yuan per month before March, which is almost the same as the minimum monthly salary of 2690 yuan.

 

At the age of 32, Ding Xiaoqing, from Ningbo, came to Shanghai after graduating from university and worked as a sports event journalist and presenter in a large internet company. After many years in the media industry, she gradually lost her enthusiasm and interest for her former job. After leaving her last job, she began to explore new possibilities. Through her friends who had also resigned, she learned about the existence of unemployment benefits. After checking, she found that she could receive 10 months of unemployment benefits each month, which amounted to over 2000 yuan. After going through the application process, she successfully obtained the unemployment benefits and became one of the young people who were not covered by social security.

 

For Ding Xiaoqing, the freedom of time after resigning, along with some savings and the monthly unemployment benefits, has given her more energy and resources to explore new career opportunities. She is not worried about discontinuing her social security contributions. In terms of matters related to social security such as purchasing a car, buying a house, settling down, and future education for her children, she has her own considerations. Although she has already purchased a car in Shanghai, she does not plan to buy a house there in the future. Firstly, she believes that her current savings are not enough to buy a satisfactory house in terms of location and size. Secondly, she is not willing to take on a mortgage burden for buying a house, which would only increase her mental stress and reduce her quality of life. In addition, getting registered in Shanghai is not on her life plan. Marriage, future education for her children, and other factors are not as important as exploring new career opportunities. Regarding retirement, Ding Xiaoqing thinks that instead of dedicating a certain proportion of her income each month to pay for the highest level of pension and medical insurance, which could be manageable with stable income but burdensome with unstable income, she prefers purchasing commercial insurance and financial products. This would make her feel more secure and enable her to enjoy better medical services.

 

"Social security used to be a symbol of security in my consciousness, but in the case of unstable income, it has become a tangible burden in life." By comparison, the priorities such as buying a car, buying a house, getting registered, and ensuring their children's education that are tied to social security no longer hold priority in the uncertain lives of the flexible employment group.

 

In this regard, I believe that the government and various sectors of society should work together to take a series of measures to alleviate the social security burden on flexible workers. Firstly, the government can optimize social security policies, improve the flexibility and sustainability of the social security system. For example, they can consider introducing preferential policies for flexible workers, such as lowering their social security contribution rates or providing social security subsidies. In addition, exploring the establishment of a multi-level social security system to meet the needs of different groups. Secondly, various sectors of society can also play a proactive role in providing more support and assistance to flexible workers. For example, companies can establish cooperative relationships with flexible workers to provide them with more job opportunities and career development space. At the same time, encouraging social organizations, charities, and others to participate in providing social security support to flexible workers, offering them financial assistance and advisory services.

 

March 20th to March 21st, conduct a preliminary interview over the phone to understand the relevant stories of the interviewees.

 

March 21st to March 23rd, develop a shooting script, communicate the follow-up interview time, location, shooting content, and other matters.

 

March 24th, in the morning, shoot footage of Lujiazui Financial Center, film the interviewee having lunch and shopping at noon, and in the afternoon, shoot footage of Pudong Riverside and the main interview video.

 

March 25th, export the video footage shot the previous day, and select and screen the footage, while also selecting past sports and hobbies videos provided by the interviewees.

 

March 26th to April 2nd, edit the videos and refine the content.