China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Monday it had allocated 28.23 billion yuan ($4.27 billion) to assure retired enterprise employees receive their pensions before the arrival of the Spring Festival.

The State Council, or the Cabinet, decided at an executive meeting last December to raise the retired enterprise employees' pension about 10 percent from 2010 levels, or about 140 yuan per person per month in 2011.

The MOF also said local governments had issued 10.24 billion yuan of festival subsidies to 85.97 million people.

The Spring Festival, the Chinese lunar New Year is a time for family reunions in China. It falls on February  3 this year.

(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2011)