Pension Reform in China

This article analyzes China’s pension arrangement and notes that China has recently established a universal non-contributory pension plan covering urban non-employed workers and all rural residents, combined with the pension plan covering urban employees already in place. Further, in the latest reform, China has discontinued the special pension plan for civil servants and integrated this privileged welfare class into the urban old-age pension insurance program. With these steps, China has achieved a degree of universalism and integration of its pension arrangement unprecedented in the non-Western world. Despite this radical pension transformation strategy, we argue that the current Chinese pension arrangement represents a case of “incomplete” universalism. First, its benefit level is low. Moreover, the benefit level varies from region to region. Finally, universalism in rural China has been undermined due to the existence of the “policy bundle.” Additionally, we argue that the 2015 pension reform has created a situation in which the stratification of Chinese pension arrangements has been “flattened,” even though it remains stratified to some extent.     

Pension policy in China, Singapore, and South Korea: An assessment of the potential value of the notional defined contribution model

The rate of population aging is increasing in the developing world and the trend is particularly dramatic in East Asia. One consequence is sharp increases in old-age dependency ratios which have major implications for the sustainability of current public pension schemes. These trends are pushing pension policy experts in many of these countries to search for new pension models that are more suited to the increased demographic pressures they will be facing in the decades ahead. In this article we discuss five alternative public pension models with a focus on the newest of these models, the notional defined contribution (NDC) approach. We consider three countries with very different pension systems in place, two from East Asia (China and South Korea) and one from South East Asia (Singapore). The central question we address is which (if any) of the limitations in these existing models might more adequately be addressed using a variant of the NDC model. We conclude that the NDC model has the most to offer China and the least to offer Singapore.     

The Portability of Pension Rights: General Principles and the Caribbean Case

The portability of pension rights is an increasingly important issue in the Caribbean. The large and increasing flows of migrant workers, including both permanent and temporary migrants, the small size of the domestic economies and the process of regional integration and economic openness call for effective means to make pensions portable. This article presents a select survey of the literature on pension portability, and reviews the progress made by the Caribbean countries as well as some remaining challenges in the light of the international experience.     

我国基本养老保险实现全国统筹的方案设计

实现基本养老保险全国统筹是我国养老保险制度的内在要求,也是我国养老保障体制改革的发展方向和必然趋势。在目前各区域差异明显和业已形成的地方利已主义行为,已严重阻碍了基本养老保险统筹层次的提高。本文针对各区域间差距的情况,设计出基本养老金计发方案,以减少基本养老保险实现全国统筹的障碍与阻力;针对各主体利益行为,设计出“统帐全分,分开管理”的基本养老保险全国统筹模式,以划清中央与地方的权利与责任范围;针对各种方案实施阻力大小,给出最优方案选择。以期为我国基本养老保险尽快实现全国统筹提供对策参考。     

中国养老金:制度变革、问题清单与高质量发展

中国养老金制度经过近30多年来的深刻变革,从自我封闭的单位保障制走向开放式的社会保险制、从少数人的专利发展成为全体老年人的共同福祉、从单一责任主体走向多方分担责任、从单一层次走向多层次化,成为惠及所有老年人的社会保障制度,符合全球养老金制度发展的潮流与客观规律。但目前存在的理论认识误区、制度不统一、政策参数僵化、补充层次缺失及其导致的筹资失衡、待遇不公、预期紊乱、可持续性弱化和社会风险累积等问题正在日益显性化。这表明其仍是质量不高的制度安排。因此,中国养老金制度亟待走出逻辑混乱的思维定势与传统的路径依赖,通过明确公平建制理念、加快制度统一步伐、调适筹资责任分担机制、赋予相关参数弹性空间、理性推动多层次化等举措来为参与主体各方提供清晰稳定的预期,实现制度定型和高质量发展。     

Inequality of Pension Arrangements Among Different Segments of the Labor Force in China

Social security for older people in China today has been established institutionally. However, there are substantial problems such as coverage, affordability, fund management, and corruption. This paper aims to provide a general picture of China's social security system for older people and to argue that the inequality of pension arrangements among different segments of the labor force is one of the most conspicuous problems challenging the Chinese government. Four unequal aspects of the pension system concerning the financing resources and pension levels are examined in this paper: (1) unequal institutional arrangements among different sectors, (2) unbalanced governmental expenditure in pension provision, (3) an increasing gap in pension levels between urban and rural areas, and (4) uncovered groups such as the unemployed and self-employed. Historical, economic, and political reasons all contribute to this unequal institution under transition from socialism to a market-oriented economy. At present, it is urgent for the central government to take measures to integrate the various pension arrangements into the unified Old Age Insurance and to reduce the gaps among different regions.     

Closed Circuits of Interaction?

Are CCTV images of such evidential strength that they speak for themselves? If not, then for whom do they speak? CCTV cameras form a growing presence in Britain's high streets. There are estimated to be 2.5 million cameras in operation in Britain, there is an increase in legislation relating to cameras and there is increasing concern amongst civil liberties groups about cameras' effects. Claims are frequently made such as 'if you are doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about' and 'CCTV evidence is clear to see.' These claims depend upon acceptance of the proposal that CCTV images are simply left to speak for themselves and that CCTV staff do little interpretative work. However, to investigate these claims, we need to ask: How do CCTV systems actually operate in practice. How are identities for CCTV images made 'clear', accounted for and mobilized? What work is done to promote the notion that we have nothing to worry about with CCTV? How do issues such as 'surveillance', 'privacy' and 'public' become implicated within these identity production processes? This article seeks to tackle these questions through the interrogation of a single story involving a high-street CCTV system, local police, local residents, a national television company and civil liberties group. This analysis of interactivity (based on a broadly ethno-methodological remit) augments current sociological accounts of CCTV. Instead of accepting panoptic metaphors as a means of understanding CCTV, the article will open up the closed circuit of CCTV through an analysis of the pantopticon in practice.     

Long-Term Care

This study examines the redistributive effects of public pensions on old-age income inequality, testing whether public pensions function as the “great equalizer.” Unlike the well-known alleviating effect of public pensions on old-age poverty, the effects of public pensions on old-age income inequality more generally have been less examined, particularly outside Western countries. Using repeated cross-sectional data of elderly Koreans between 1998 and 2010, we applied Gini coefficient decomposition to measure the impact of various income sources on old-age inequality, particularly focusing on public pensions. Our findings show that, contrary to expectations, public pension benefits have inequality-intensifying effects on old-age income in Korea, even countervailing the alleviating effects of public assistance. This rather surprising result is due to the specific institutional context of the Korean public pension system and suggests that the “structuring” of welfare policies could be as important as their expansion for the elderly, particularly for developing welfare states.     

Costs of Extending the Noncontributory Pension Program for Elderly: The Mexican Case

Population aging coupled with high poverty rates among older persons and a lack of access to social-security benefits or traditional support systems have led governments in low and middle-income countries to introduce non-contributory pension programs for the elderly. This article reviews a non-contributory pension program introduced in Mexico in 2007 that has since expanded greatly. We use a variety of sources to estimate current and future costs of this program.     

Research on the Accumulation Effect of Pension Income and Payments Caused by Progressive Retirement Age Postponement Policy in China

A retirement age postponement policy will not only increase pension income but also reduce pension payments, which will cause an accumulation effect on the size of the pension fund and relieve the intensifying pressure on pension payments. Based on the analysis of historical data in order to predict the population and pension scale in China, this research shows that the working-age population will gradually decrease, the supply of labor will decrease, and the demographic dividend will gradually disappear between 2018 and 2055 if the current retirement policy remains unrevised. According to three different retirement age postponement policy options, we establish that there are significant accumulation effects that can alleviate the pressure on pension funds. Among these policies, the postpone retirement policy option, which is based on the working period, is more conducive to a smoother policy implementation effect in the long term.     

Gender and Pensions: An Analysis of Factors Affecting Women's Private Pension Scheme Membership in the United Kingdom

There has been considerable debate about the future sustainability of pension provision and, in particular, the precarious position of many female pensioners. The reasons for women's lower participation rates in private pensions than men's require greater investigation. Using the General Lifestyle Survey (GLF) 2008, this article examines the impact of various characteristics on the likelihood of contributing to a private pension, such as educational attainments, income, occupational group, full-time/part-time status, and whether an individual has any dependent children. It shows that these characteristics play an important role in access to private pensions. Finally, it suggests that strategies to alleviate disadvantages must take into account the complex circumstances that individuals experience throughout the life course, which result in gendered pension provision.     

居民养老保险:参保主体、筹资与待遇水平

本文从参保结构、筹资水平和待遇水平等3个方面对城乡居民养老保险制度进行了分析。研究发现,在参保结构方面,伴随着城镇化率的提高,居民养老保险参保人数的相对比例在下降;在筹资水平方面,个人缴费水平过低,其主要原因是财政补贴资金激励性不足,从而需要在进一步提高财政补贴的同时,优化补贴结构,提高对个人缴费的激励作用;在待遇方面,居民养老金总体水平较低、但增长幅度较大,与职工待遇相比,替代率的差距要远远小于绝对额的差距。     

Innenansichten eines Wohlfahrtsmarkts

The 2001 pension reform act (“Riester reform”) has recast old-age security in Germany by placing more emphasis on private provisions. The new policy draws on markets and competitive structures in social welfare, as done earlier in long-term care and in public utilities. In the social welfare sector in Germany, such privatisation mostly goes hand in hand with a far-reaching “social” regulation of markets. Old-age pensions are the most recent case in point. For the first time, financial markets figure as welfare markets. This is done in the politically most sensitive sector of the German welfare state, old-age security. In theoretical terms, we interpret the change as a structural transformation of German “social capitalism”. Empirically, we investigate the structure of the new welfare market and the attitudes of the providers, based on a survey of all providers of private pensions in Germany. The findings include: (1) Markets can produce the welfare good “income security in old-age” only by way of a complex arrangement of three markets – financial markets, pension markets and markets for financial consultancy services. (2) The pension reform of 2001 has given rise to a new welfare market: an old-age pension market as a distinct sub sector of the wider market for financial investment and saving. The pension market constitutes a new field of business, with new actors, new products and new arenas of competition. The new market is created and shaped by politics. (3) The new private pension market combines market principles with welfare state principles. The providers conceive of their business as contributing to social security, and they recognise that the state sustains and structures the market.     

浅析廊坊市社区居家养老服务体系的构建

廊坊市老龄人口总数和年增长率均高于全国平均水平,已提前进入老龄化社会,养老服务问题愈加凸显,加快养老服务体系建设至关重要。社区居家养老服务模式集合了家庭养老和机构养老的优点,以其人性化、便捷性、操作性强等独特优势,已成为全世界非常推崇的养老服务模式。通过纵向数据分析和横向比较分析,描述廊坊市人口老龄化的基本态势,深入剖析居家养老服务模式的内涵,并在探讨廊坊市居家养老服务的实践与存在的不足的基础上,提出构建社区居家养老服务体系的对策。     

实现基本养老保险全国统筹的障碍研究

实现基本养老保险全国统筹是我国养老保障体制改革的发展方向,但不同地区的基本养老保险制度、经济水平、人口结构等方面存在巨大差距,以及业已形成的地方利己主义行为,严重阻碍了基本养老保险全国统筹的实现。通过对基本养老保险全国统筹的障碍进行研究,得出缩小各地区之间的区域差距和明确中央政府与地方各级政府职责,有利于基本养老保险全国统筹的实现。     

Old age pension and intergenerational living arrangements: a regression discontinuity design

China launched a pension program for rural residents in 2009, now covering more than 300 million Chinese. This program offers a unique setting for studying the ageing population, given the rapidity of China’s population ageing, traditions of filial piety and co-residence, decreasing number of children, and dearth of formal social security, at a relatively low income level. This paper examines whether receipt of the old-age pension payment equips elderly parents and their adult children to live apart and whether parents substitute children’s time involved in instrumental support to them with service consumption. Employing a regression discontinuity design to a primary longitudinal survey conducted in Guizhou province of China, this paper overcomes challenges in the literature that households eligible for pension payment might be systematically different from ineligible households and that it is difficult to separate the effect of pension from that of age or cohort heterogeneity. Around the pension eligibility age cut-off, results reveal large and significant reduction in intergenerational co-residence of the extended family and increase in service consumption among elderly parents.     

Quality of Life of the Elderly Receiving Old Age Pension in Lesotho

The southern African country of Lesotho introduced an old age pension scheme in 2004 with the aim of enhancing the quality of life (QoL) of the nation’s elderly population. This study is the first to assess the physical, psychological, social, and environmental aspects of the health-related QoL of the elderly in Lesotho since the pension scheme was adopted. Data for this study were gathered using the World Health Organization QoL-BREF questionnaire. Mean QoL scores were compared across demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical variables using analysis of variance, t test, and regression analysis. Findings indicate that respondents were least satisfied with the environmental and physical domains of QoL. They also indicate that the overall QoL of the elderly in Lesotho was mainly affected by marital status, level of education, type of housing, source of income, and level of satisfaction with income. These factors should thus be taken into account when developing interventions aimed at improving the QoL of the elderly in Lesotho.     

Pension Reforms,Working Patterns and Gender Pension Gaps in Europe

European pension reforms are dominated by the principles of privatization and individualization. Privatizing and individualizing pension entitlements call for a redefinition of the responsibilities of states and individuals. Moreover, statutorily introducing individualization calls for equal opportunities to be guaranteed. However, the implementation of equal opportunities is a long way off because pension‐determining factors are still subject to gender distinctions, among other things. Gender distinction is inherent in life courses as well as in welfare arrangements. Welfare arrangements determine the legitimate reasons for gaining pension rights, how the measures of different entitlements are interrelated and which factors hamper a person's ability to fulfil the pension norm. This article analyses the link between welfare arrangements and women's life courses for a better understanding of the gendered norms of pension entitlements by focusing on gendered wages and life expectancies, gendered working patterns, and the connection between care and pensions.     

Five artists' valuations of the visual

Abstract

This paper comprises interviews with five practising artists: Terry Atkinson, Torie Begg, Rebecca Fortnum, Lubaina Himid, and James Hugonin. The aim is to gauge the ways in which ‘the visual’ features in contemporary fine art practice, not only at the end of a century in which the visual ‐ at least for much of the first half of that century ‐ was often accorded special status, but also, more recently, after Conceptualism and radical egalitarian interventions have challenged the status of and assumptions about the value of the visual. All five artists were asked the same questions: What/who are the formative influences on your work?; What role does the visual play in your work ‐ to what extent do you value the visual?; Can you say something about (i) aesthetic and (ii) pleasure ‐ however you define them?; How does a work evolve?; How do you define quality ‐ what makes you think one of your works is better than another?; What is the spectator's relationship to your work? ‐ what role does the spectator have? The responses bear witness to significantly different ways in which contemporary artists value the visual.     

On the Determinants of Defined Benefit Pension Plan Conversions

This study utilizes pension plan level 5500 data from the Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service to investigate the determinants of traditional defined benefit plan conversion to hybrid cash balance plans during the 1990s. Incorporating the possibility of plan termination instead of plan conversion, the author finds a negative effect of plan funding status, union status, the number of total defined benefit plans at the firm, and plan contributions on the likelihood of plan conversion. The number of active participants and total defined contribution plans at the firm positively affect the probability of conversion. Plans at firms with at least one union plan were less likely to terminate. Additionally, the number of defined benefit plans at the firm and plan contributions had a negative effect on the likelihood of plan termination. Industry fixed effects were significant in all specifications.