"Reply of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security to Recommendation No. 5570 of the Second Session of the Thirteenth National People's Congress?" Your suggestion on accelerating the establishment of a national basic pension insurance and funeral subsidy system for urban and rural residents has been received. After consulting with the Ministry of Finance, we hereby reply

As follows: Formulating a funeral expense subsidy policy for urban and rural residents is of great significance for improving the pension insurance system for urban and rural residents, protecting the basic rights and interests of insured persons, reflecting social fairness, maintaining fund security, and promoting the sustainable development of the system.

Since the issuance of the "Opinions of the State Council on Establishing a Unified Basic Pension Insurance System for Urban and Rural Residents" (Guofa [2014] No. 8), 21 provinces across the country have established a funeral subsidy system at the provincial level based on local conditions.

There are mainly three methods: first, to implement unified funeral subsidy standards across the province. For example, Tianjin City stipulates that the funeral subsidy standard is 1,800 yuan; second, to unify the funeral subsidy calculation and payment standards across the province, such as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region stipulates that the funeral subsidy standard is 1,800 yuan.

The subsidy standard is calculated based on the 12-month basic pension standard; third, each locality determines the standard range of funeral subsidy stipulated by the province. For example, Shandong Province stipulates that the standard range of funeral subsidy is 500 to 1,000 yuan.

Although other provinces have not established a funeral subsidy system at the provincial level, they support and encourage cities and counties to explore the establishment of a funeral subsidy system for urban and rural residents based on local realities.