Collect the money held in different places, one place at a time: the housing provident fund balance, social insurance benefits, and work-injury benefits

Heirs can withdraw the housing provident fund (公积金 — mandatory housing savings) balance. It is not in a bank account, so it is easy to miss. Money left in the individual account of the basic pension can also be inherited. If a person covered by the enterprise employees' pension dies of illness, the family also receives a funeral allowance and a survivor allowance for 3 to 24 months. If the death was caused by work, there are 3 more work-injury payments.

Cost

It costs nothing, but you have to go to several windows. Before you go, get the death certificate and proof of kinship ready.

Benefit

The balance of the housing provident fund account (the money still left in his provident-fund account) can be withdrawn by heirs and by legatees. A legatee is the person named in a will to receive something. If the death was caused by work, there are 3 more payments: a funeral allowance, a dependents' pension, and a one-time work-death benefit. Money left in the individual account of the basic pension can be inherited; the Social Insurance Law says so in writing. If a person covered by the employees' pension dies of illness, or dies from a cause that is not work, the family can also receive a funeral allowance and a survivor allowance, together called survivor benefits. The standard for enterprise employees is calculated on a nationwide formula. The funeral allowance is 2 times the previous year's monthly per capita disposable income of urban residents in that province. The survivor allowance uses that same monthly per capita income as the base, and is paid for 3 to 24 months according to the years of contributions. Under 5 years, 3 months are paid. For 5 to 10 years, 6 months are paid. For 10 to 15 years, 9 months are paid. For more than 15 years, each extra 1 year adds 1 month, up to 24 months. If the person had already retired, each 1 year of pension already received subtracts 1 month, and the minimum is 9 months.

Notes

The provident-fund sum is the one most often forgotten, because it is not in a bank account and it does not go into the division of the estate on its own. Money left in the individual pension account and the survivor benefits are calculated separately and paid separately. Handle them together at the social insurance window where he was insured. The documents each place asks for are different. If contributions were under 5 years, the survivor benefits together do not exceed the money he himself paid in. This formula comes from the rules for the enterprise employees' pension. For survivor benefits under the pension for government bodies and public institutions, and under the urban and rural residents' pension, ask at the window. If the funeral expenses and the survivor allowance were paid into his bank account, how to withdraw them is in item 12 (withdraw the deposit directly at the bank). The formal requirements for a will and for inheritance are in Section 17. If you plan to renounce the inheritance to stay clear of the debt, do not withdraw this money first. See item 11 (a written statement renouncing the inheritance).

Sources · 3

1. 国务院 (2026). 住房公积金管理条例（国务院令第 844 号修改，2026 年 9 月 20 日起施行）第二十四条末款. gov.cn/gongbao/2026/issue_12946/202608/conten…：「职工死亡或者被宣告死亡的，职工的继承人、受遗赠人可以提取职工住房公积金账户内的存储余额；无继承人也无受遗赠人的，职工住房公积金账户内的存储余额纳入住房公积金的增值收益。」；工伤保险条例第三十九条的三笔待遇见第 19 节. gov.cn/gongbao/content/2011/content_1778064.htm
2. 全国人大常委会 (2018 修正). 社会保险法（第十四、十七条）：「个人死亡的，个人账户余额可以继承」「参加基本养老保险的个人，因病或者非因工死亡的，其遗属可以领取丧葬补助金和抚恤金」. flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8080816f135f46016f…（国家法律法规数据库）；人力资源社会保障部、财政部 (2021). 企业职工基本养老保险遗属待遇暂行办法（人社部发〔2021〕18 号，2021 年 9 月 1 日起施行，第四、五条），原件未公开挂网，条文按广州市花都区人民政府行政复议决定书（花都府行复〔2022〕226 号）的逐字引用核对：「丧葬补助金的标准，按照参保人员死亡时本省……上一年度城镇居民月人均可支配收入的2倍计算」「缴费年限不满5年的，发放月数为3个月……缴费年限30年以上的，按照30年计算，发放月数最高为24个月」. huadu.gov.cn/xxgk/xzfy/content/post_8672730.html
3. 福建省人力资源和社会保障厅. 常见问题：「每领取1年基本养老金减少1个月，发放月数最低为9个月」「累计缴费年限不足5年的，其遗属待遇（含丧葬补助金和抚恤金）标准不得超过其个人缴费之和」. rst.fujian.gov.cn/wz/cjwt/czzgly/202311/t2023…