Ministry of Finance and central bank: savings national bonds (electronic format) included in the scope of individual pension products.

On November 21st, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Bank of China jointly issued a notice regarding the inclusion of electronic savings bonds into the scope of personal pension products. It mentioned that before pension investors purchase savings bonds (electronic), the institution should open a personal pension-specific national bond account (hereinafter referred to as the pension national bond account) to record the period, quantity, and holding changes of the savings bonds (electronic) purchased by pension investors. The pension national bond account should be linked to the investor's personal pension fund account, and fund transfers, withdrawal conditions, and tax policies should comply with the relevant regulations of the personal pension system. Institutions should confirm that there are no outstanding savings bonds (electronic) in the corresponding pension national bond account before cancelling the pension investor's pension fund account opened at their institution, and then cancel the corresponding pension national bond account. The notice pertains to the business operations of personal pension savings bonds (electronic) institutions, which are savings bond underwriting group members in compliance with the regulations of financial regulatory departments. Pension investors refer to individuals participating in the personal pension system who purchase savings bonds (electronic) through their personal pension fund accounts. In accordance with the notice, institutions are required to start operating the personal pension savings bonds (electronic) business from June 2026, providing services related to purchasing savings bonds (electronic) to pension investors who have opened a personal pension fund account with the institution. Before pension investors purchase savings bonds (electronic), institutions should open a personal pension-specific national bond account for them to record the period, quantity, and holding changes of the savings bonds (electronic) purchased by pension investors. The pension national bond account should be linked to the investor's personal pension fund account, with fund transfers, withdrawal conditions, and tax policies following the regulations of the personal pension system. Institutions must confirm that there are no outstanding savings bonds (electronic) in the corresponding pension national bond account before closing the pension investor's pension fund account opened at their institution. Institutions should provide convenient services for pension investors to query and purchase savings bonds (electronic) through established channels, including over-the-counter services, mobile banking, and online banking. The Ministry of Finance and the People's Bank of China will announce the channels available for transactions with each institution through the notifications of each period's savings bonds (electronic) issuance. In selling savings bonds (electronic) to pension investors, institutions must comply with the quota management regulations outlined in the "Savings Bonds Issuance Quota Management Measures" (Ministry of Finance [2022] No. 43). If institutions violate the regulations outlined in the notice during the operation of personal pension savings bonds (electronic) business, they will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant regulations of the savings bond management system. Any losses caused to pension investors due to their own reasons should be compensated according to the law.