BEIJING -- Three provinces and one autonomous region are planning for entrusted pension investment to deal with mounting payment pressure, a social security official said Wednesday.

Gansu, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces as well as Tibet Autonomous Region are considering entrusting some of their pension funds, totaling 150 billion yuan ($23.05 billion), to the National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF) for professional investment, according to Tang Xiaoli, an official of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

China is facing increasing pension payment pressure due to the acceleration of economic restructuring and an aging population, requiring new ways to bolster the funds' value, Tang said.

Pension investment is a major way to preserve and increase fund value, and nine provinces have entrusted about 430 billion yuan to the NCSSF for professional investment.

China has about 4 trillion yuan in its pension fund balance, and more provinces should be encouraged to try entrusted investment, Tang said.