BEIJING, April 22 -- China needs to improve its old-age pension system by allowing individuals to open private retirement savings accounts, an official said Friday.

Currently, employees pay eight percent of their salary and employers pay around 20 percent into a pension pool. In addition, enterprises can voluntarily set up retirement benefit plans as an annuity for employees.

"The current pension system is hardly able to deal with the aging population in China," said Li Chao, vice head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Pension regulators can provide qualified investment programs to these savers, who can have tax reductions as a stimulus, Li advised.