Yu Menglong Reveals the Reason for the Bankruptcy of Social Security Contributions

Online posts circulating claim that in one of Yu Menglong’s articles, he mentioned that those in power stole social security funds amounting to billions. (Video screenshot)

[People News] Recently, civil servants in many provinces and cities across mainland China have been required to make up three years of unpaid social security contributions, confirming claims that China’s social security system has developed an unfillable black hole and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The credibility crisis surrounding the social security system is growing day by day.

Speaking of social security contributions, an online post attributed to Yu Menglong once mentioned the shady operations behind those in power plundering social security funds. The article stated: “They used my studio to transfer money from the social security fund, and each time it was several hundred million. Then they transferred tens of billions to Australia. Every time the money was transferred, I felt like vomiting. I knew this wasn’t my money.” Were these funds transferred to the CCP party leader’s illegitimate daughter, Yang Lanlan? As for the huge black hole left in the social security accounts, it is being filled by civil servants out of their own pockets.

Recently, public employees in several provinces and cities such as Shandong and Anhui have reported adjustments in how the “five social insurances and one housing fund” are paid, with some areas requiring workers to make up for deficits from past years.

In Kanjia Town, Gaomi City, Weifang, Shandong Province, the town government has already issued notices to several units requiring on-staff personnel to make up for insufficient contributions dating back to 2022. Similar measures have been introduced in other provinces.

A township-level medical worker in Lu’an, Anhui Province, said: “The government doesn’t have the money to make up its share of the five social insurances and housing fund, so we have to pay it ourselves. Now many places only pay basic salary—where is the extra money supposed to come from?” Because the notices came suddenly, “we have to make up several years of the difference ourselves. The exact amount has to be checked in the unit’s archives.”

Several grassroots public employees told reporters that the amounts to be made up are large and the deadline is short. One interviewee familiar with the situation said: “Colleagues have been doing the math these past two days—some may have to pay tens of thousands. People don’t really understand why the make-up payments are all happening at once.”

The phenomenon has sparked widespread discussion on social media. Some netizens believe it shows increasing fiscal pressure at the local level. A user named “6677” wrote: “Shandong is a major province for civil-service recruitment. There are too many civil servants, and the government can’t cover it anymore even by transferring wealth.”

Some people commented, “When the leeks aren’t enough, the sickle will eventually turn inward,” meaning that the burdens inside and outside the system are becoming the same.

One netizen wrote, “The iron rice bowl has become a self-funded iron rice bowl, and even people inside the system are starting to run away.” Others pointed out that delayed salary payments for grassroots public-institution staff are no longer rare in some regions: “How many are actually true civil servants? Many are public-institution staff, and their salaries were already tight.”

According to fiscal scholar Li Baichuan’s analysis, the decline in local government revenues, coupled with stricter enforcement of social-security collection, has led some regions to focus on clearing historical arrears at the end of the year. This reflects today’s rather strained economic environment.

In several chat groups viewed by the reporter, users posted messages saying that grassroots township units in Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Liaoning, and other places have been receiving notices about make-up payments. Governments in many areas have not yet issued public explanations regarding the details, causes, or follow-up arrangements for the arrears.

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