SHANGHAI, May 5 -- Shanghai has unified its pension plans for rural and unemployed urban residents, authorities said on Monday.

The unified system combines Shanghai's 5-level rural pension plan with the 10-scale scheme for unemployed urban residents to create a 12-level pension program. The new pension plan came into effect on May 1.

The pension fund combines contributions from the individual, collective and government. Individuals can choose to pay from 500 yuan to 3,300 yuan annually, in accordance with different levels of the pension plan.

Meanwhile, pension funds for rural and unemployed city residents are combined into one as a special fiscal account in the Shanghai social security fund.

China's State Council earlier this year announced unification of the separate urban and rural systems as a way to narrow the urban-rural gap and to allow better access to social benefits.