Over 90% of people with disabilities in China are covered by basic old-age insurance for both urban and rural residents according to official data. The participation rate of persons with disabilities in China's basic medical insurance has also remained above 95%.
According to a report by Xinhua the social security programmes for the disabled that encompass different subsidies and allowances have been further expanded over the past five years, ensuring that all eligible are covered.
The Federation chairman Cheng Kai recently told a press conference that up to June 2025, living allowances for the disabled in financial difficulty and nursing subsidies for the severely disabled had benefited 11.88m and 16.4m respectively.
Mr Cheng said a total of 10.5m people with disabilities are included in the country's subsistence allowance system.
The Xinhua report said the public services have also been enhanced to improve the lives of people with disabilities. A nationwide campaign for barrier-free home renovations benefited 1.28m households with disabled members during the period, surpassing the original target of 1.1m.
The annual net income of families with disabled members in China grew at an average rate of 6.9% per year from 2020 to 2023, roughly matching the pace of the country's GDP growth.
The job opportunities for people with disabilities have also expanded during the 14th five-year plan period (2021-2025). A total of 2.31m persons with disabilities were newly employed during the period. Many have secured jobs in emerging industries, such as online platforms as well.
According to the Federation’s vice-chairperson Li Dongmei more than 400,000 persons with disabilities were newly employed every year during the period. The employment rate of the disabled population grew by nearly 5 percentage points.
In addition, a total of 2.17m persons with disabilities were organised to receive vocational training, which significantly improved the quality of their employment.