A total 1.74 billion yuan was abused for other use rather than from social security issues, including covering local government budget, building homes and offices, buying cars and other devices.?[Photo/Caixin.com]

China's top auditor has ferreted out irregularities involving tens of billions of yuan in the auditing on the country's social securities funds last year, the National Audit Office said in a statement Thursday.

The auditor said that China social security fund is generally safe and has been helpful, but the system is still young with problems like weak supportive measures, lack of experienced social security professionals, and insufficient management. So far, about 31.5 billion yuan (US$5 billion) has been corrected or clawed back for their supposed use.

A total 1.74 billion yuan was abused for other use rather than from social security issues, including covering local government budget, building homes and offices, buying cars and other devices.

Another 1.85 billion yuan was dispatched to unqualified individuals, while some organizations and individuals were bilking the system for their private benefits.

On the front of fund management, the auditor discovered that a total 42.7 billion yuan social security fund was not included in the designated fund account, and 56.5 billion yuan fiscal subsidy was not allocated in time.

The top audit office said input social securities fund totaled 2.84 trillion yuan last year while the expenditure amounted to 2.11 trillion yuan. As of the end of 2011, the social security fund had a balance of 3.11 trillion yuan, more than four times than the end of 2005.