OREANDA-NEWS. August 30, 2013. In the first half of 2013, ICBC continued to make conscious efforts to improve the financial services for pension funds. Growth was impressive. ICBC topped the domestic league table with 12.50 million personal pension accounts under its management at the end of the first half of 2013.

The excellent pension fund service of ICBC is marked by managing pension funds for 37,400 corporate clients and having RMB 53 billion of pension funds under trust.

The gathering speed of population aging in China over the past few years fuels the growth of supplementary pension products such as corporate annuity, individual commercial retirement insurance. Besides a good alternative to Basic Pension Insurance System, supplementary pension products also bring more room for commercial banks to deliver pension services. ICBC was the earliest commercial bank in China to be certified as the account manager and the custodian bank for corporate annuity fund. Subsequently, ICBC obtained the certification of corporate trustee for corporate annuity. Together with the certification of investment management for corporate annuity fund owned by ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co. Ltd., a holding subsidiary of ICBC, ICBC has "full license" to move forward its pension services.

In recent years, ICBC spends conscious effort to improve its pension services through integrated operation. Today, ICBC’s pension services cover a full range: corporate annuity, social insurance fund, pension insurance fund for enterprises/public institutions and personal retirement fund. Government departments, public institutions, social organization and personal customers are also the target clients besides corporate clients. Services include fiduciary management, account management, fund custody, management consultancy, investment and wealth management, rights and interests information management, information storage/enquiry and agency services, covering all aspects of China's pension insurance system to meet the diverse needs of different types of pension customers.

Innovative products are launched to raise the level of pension services to customers. In 2011, ICBC rolled out "Ruyi Life", a social welfare plan for enterprises and public institutions to provide benefits for their employees covering pension, medical and payroll services. Employee benefit plans and ICBC wealth management are combined for wide coverage, simple formalities, reliable, transparent and stable investment return. "Ruyi Life" is well-suited for the enterprises and public institutions to manage their employee benefits funds.

Another focus is the pension fund services for small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs). It is difficult for small-and-medium enterprises to set up an annuity plan due to their small business scale, lack of professional staff and high cost. In light of this, ICBC launches "Ruyi Pension", a collective corporate annuity plan designed for SMEs and the staff to enjoy the reliable, convenient and professional annuity management services, and address the issues of SMEs when setting up corporate annuity system. "Ruyi Pension" comes with simple steps, standard procedures, good management, and a range of investment products for SMEs to choose. At present, "Ruyi Pension I", "Ruyi Pension II" and "Ruyi Pension III" under the "Ruyi Pension" brand offer pension fund management services for millions of staff working in small-and-medium enterprises.