According to Shanghai's regulations, males aged 16 to under 60 and females aged 16 to under 55 can register for social insurance as flexible workers and pay the fees themselves if they meet one of the following conditions:

> Self-employed individuals working in Shanghai

> Individual business owners without employees

> Part-time workers not covered by basic pension or medical insurance through an employer

> Other flexible workers

In contrast, employees of business enterprises must have their social insurance registration managed by their employers, who are responsible for paying social insurance fees jointly with the employees.

In addition, the main differences between flexible employment insurance and enterprise employee insurance are as follows:

Difference 1: Types of Insurance

Individuals eligible for flexible employment insurance shall enroll in the city's basic pension insurance and health insurance.

In contrast, employers must enroll their employees in the city's basic pension insurance, medical insurance (including maternity insurance), work injury insurance, and unemployment insurance.

Difference 2: Individual contribution rates

For flexible employment insurance, all costs are borne by the individual, with current contribution rates set at 20 percent for pension insurance and 10 percent for health insurance.

In contrast, social insurance contributions are shared between employers and employees. The current personal contribution rates are 8 percent for pension insurance, 2 percent for health insurance, and 0.5 percent for unemployment insurance.

Difference 3: Responsibility for registration and payment

In the case of flexible employment, individuals are responsible for their own social security registration.

In contrast, employers manage the registration of their employees and the contributions owed by the employees are deducted and paid by the employers on their behalf.

Source: Official WeChat account of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security