China's urban and rural pension insurance systems covered 459 million people at the end of October, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on November 13.

As many as 125 million elderly people receive pensions every month, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

Over the past few years, China has taken significant steps to improve the country's pension and social security system. The country kicked off a rural pension pilot program in 2009 and announced a pilot program offering social pension insurance for urban residents in 2011 to expand the coverage of the country's pension system.

Premier Wen Jiabao pledged in October to increase government spending on the social pension insurance system to address the problem of the country's surging aging population.