China's employee benefit system is still underdeveloped, with a majority of employees hoping to see improvements in their packages, according to a research report on December 5.

The China Employee Benefit Index 2012, the country's first index gauging the well-being of employees, stands at 65.37, indicating that the benefit system is still at a basic level.

The index was launched by Ping An Annuity Insurance Co. of China and the Industrial Relations Research Center of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

The index took into account factors like coverage and penetration of benefit packages, and employees' satisfaction levels.

According to the report, a score under 60 indicates a preliminary stage, while a score ranging from 80 to 100 indicates a sound system. The figure regarding benefit coverage is only at 61.33, indicating that coverage remains limited.

The report said that employees want better basic benefits. For example, 62.3 percent of the employees surveyed said that they hope their housing provident funds can be raised, while 60.3 percent believe that their supplementary commercial insurance needs improvement.

However, companies are not adequately motivated to invest in employee benefit plans due to their own financial reality and a lack of policy support.

Only 42.5 percent of the company representatives polled indicated that employers plan to allocate more resources to employee benefits.

The report said that the financial industry offers the best employee benefits, while advertising, media and the print industry offer the worst.

Also, foreign-funded companies have the best employee benefit systems, but private companies rank low on the list.

"The government should offer policy support measures for small and medium-sized hi-tech firms to offer better employee benefits for retaining talented professionals," said Yang Yansui, Director of the Research Center of Employment and Social Security at Tsinghua University.

"Sophisticated employee benefit systems are playing an increasingly important role in attracting talented personnel, motivating staff and improving companies' efficiency," said Du Yongmao, CEO of Ping An Annuity Insurance Co.