China has uncovered some 60,000 people illegally receiving a total of 180 million yuan (about US$26 million) in social security funds last year, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) said on Thursday.

A spokesman of the ministry said the schemes were exposed during routine examinations, in which 47.6 million beneficiaries of social security funds were examined.

All the money has been retrieved, the spokesman said.

The ministry also received 24.2 billion yuan in pension funds owed by enterprises, according to the spokesman.

The former Ministry of Labor and Social Security issued the regulations on the management of social security funds in 2007. By the end of last year, detailed measures were set up in 24 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions nationwide.

China's social security system is made up of five parts: pension insurance, medical insurance, work injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance.

Some employers had refused to insure their employees or deliberately defaulted paying insurance fees for staff for lack of a clear punishment. In addition, an incomplete social security system has also hindered the rational migration of labor.

(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2008)