Do not panic if social insurance contributions are interrupted: pension is cumulative; medical insurance is made up by the rules

Pension is counted by cumulative years, not continuous years; an interruption does not clear the count. At retirement age, a cumulative full 15 years is enough for monthly payments. For employee medical insurance, once the required years are met you need not pay after retirement; the years differ by place. What a lapse affects are two things: after resident medical insurance is restarted there is a stretch when care is not reimbursed, and local home purchase, hukou, and points schemes often require continuous contributions.

Cost

No money spent. Resident pension and resident medical insurance can be paid yearly on your own. If employee social insurance is interrupted, there is no need to pay someone to park you on a fake payroll just to avoid a gap.

Benefit

Basic old-age insurance is counted by cumulative contribution years; interruptions in the middle do not clear the count. At statutory retirement age, a cumulative full 15 years is enough for monthly pension. If short, you may keep contributing until 15 years are met. When you take a job in another place (formally, across pooling areas), the pension relationship follows you and contribution years keep accumulating. Once employee medical insurance cumulative contributions reach the years set by the state, you need not pay after retirement. The cost of a resident medical insurance lapse is a waiting period: after you restart, there is a stretch when care is not reimbursed (resident medical insurance, item 9) (nationwide)

Notes

The years after which employee medical insurance needs no further payment in retirement are written in law as “years prescribed by the state”; local figures differ, and men and women often differ too. Call 12393 or ask the local medical insurance bureau. Lapses mainly affect local eligibility that requires continuous months of payment — home purchase, hukou, points — each set locally; check locally. Paying someone to park you on a fake payroll and contribute on your behalf can lose the money and carry legal risk; it is not advised. How to transfer pension and medical relationships when changing cities, and not to withdraw coverage — see Section 19, item 19 (transfer pension and medical relationships to the new insured place). From 2030 the 15-year line rises by 6 months each year toward 20 years; how to count the cost of paying yourself is in Section 5, item 46 (paying employee old-age insurance yourself).

Sources · 2

1. 全国人大常委会 (2010, 2018 修正). 社会保险法（第十六、十九、二十七条）. gov.cn/guoqing/2021-10/29/content_5647616.htm
2. 国务院办公厅 (2024). 关于健全基本医疗保险参保长效机制的指导意见（国办发〔2024〕38 号）. gov.cn/zhengce/content/202408/content_6965741…