China's national social security fund had revenue of 3.599 trillion yuan ($586 billion) and made benefit payments of 2.874 trillion yuan last year, resulting in a balance of 725 billion yuan, the Ministry of Finance said Friday.
The ministry was expecting a balance of 492 billion yuan, according to its budget released in May last year.
Actual revenue in 2013 rose 5% from a year earlier, while payments increased 20%, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
The fund had a total balance of 4.488 trillion yuan by the end of last year, the statement said.
China will struggle to keep a healthy social security fund--which covers a wide range of needs including pensions, medical and unemployment benefits--as its population ages if the government doesn't significantly ease restrictions on child births, economists and researchers have said.
Write to Liyan Qi at liyan.qi@dowjones.com
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