China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) Friday allocated 950 million yuan (or US$139 million), the first batch of subsidies for a new rural pension plan, to pilot counties in 27 province-level administrative regions.

Relevant departments should timely transfer the fund to specified accounts to ensure eligible farmers receive adequate pensions, said the MOC in a statement on its website.

The pilot rural pension program launched in August is expected to embrace 10 percent of the nation's counties by the end of 2009, and expand to cover the whole country by 2020.

The new scheme will be subsidized by the central and local governments.

Farmers over 60 will receive a monthly allowance of varying amounts set according to their area's standard income levels after paying a fee to join the program.