BEIJING — From March 1, China will expand the scope of a pilot program for wealth management products aimed at individuals seeking to increase their retirement savings, the country's top banking and insurance regulator said on Feb 25.

China will add another six cities — Beijing, Shenyang, Changchun, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing — to the program, in addition to the four cities that have already launched relevant products, according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

A further six financial institutions will be permitted to take part in the program, bringing the total number of pilot wealth management companies to 10.

China will raise the funding cap for retirement savings wealth management products from 10 billion yuan (about $1.58 billion) to 50 billion yuan for each of the four financial institutions already permitted to take part.

For the six newly added wealth management companies, the funding cap will be set at 10 billion yuan.

China unveiled the first batch of pilot retirement savings wealth management products in the cities of Wuhan, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Qingdao last year, aiming to broaden the sources of retirement income.