Retirement against the demographic trend: More older people living longer, working less, and saving less?

The American population is aging rapidly and individuals are living longer. Yet Americans are saving less and older workers are leaving the labor force at younger and younger ages. The accelerated drop in labor force participation corresponds roughly to the introduction of Social Security and the adaption of employer-provided pension plans. I have illustrated that Social Security and employer-provided pension plans provide substantial incentive to leave the labor force early. The quantitative effect of this inducement is illustrated by simulating the effects of changes in pension plan and Social Security provisions on the retirement decisions of employees in a large firm, who are covered by a typical defined benefit pension plan. Scheduled Social Security changes would have little effect on the retirement decisions of employees with a typical defined benefit pension plan like the one considered here. But if the pension plan provisions were changed to correspond to the Social Security changes, the effect would be very large. And, although not contemplated by current legislation, it is clear that an increase in the Social Security early retirement age would have a substantial effect on the early retirement rates of the large number of employees not covered by a pension plan.     

Remeasuring ageing in Hong Kong SAR; or ‘keeping the demographic window open’

Hong Kong SAR has among both the lowest fertility rates and highest life expectancy in the world. Under the current calculation of the Old Age Dependency Ratio (OADR), Hong Kong is, understandably, ageing extremely rapidly. This is a cause of significant concern among policy makers. However, OADR assumes that the entire population aged above 65 is both ‘old’ and ‘dependent’, neither of which is clearly defined, and that all aged below 65 are active in the labour force. Furthermore, because the rate is fundamentally based upon a European/North American model of pension and retirement it is arguably less appropriate to areas of the world where retirement ages are more fluid and pension systems less developed. We apply and extend a method for Hong Kong, designed by Sanderson and Scherbov, to ‘remeasure ageing’ by taking remaining life expectancy as the constant, rather than years lived by using projected life tables and 1 × 1 population projections. In doing so, we show that Sanderson and Scherbov’s new ‘prospective’ measurements of ageing more accurately reflect the increased longevity and vitality of Hong Kong’s population. Rather than passively accepting fate as a ‘rapidly ageing’ population, East Asian economies can be active in rethinking society’s relationship to work and other activities across the life-cycle. By adapting existing measurements to take into account the different welfare regimes in East Asia, we can radically alter the timeframe in which population ageing becomes ‘critical’. This allows more time to develop a more holistic life-course view of the relationship between work, longevity and fertility and to actively tackle ageing in an optimistic way.     

Population Aging and the Rising Cost of Public Pensions

Rapid population aging is raising concerns about the sustainability of public pension systems in high‐income countries. The first part of this study identifies the four factors that determine trends in public pension expenditures: population aging, pension benefit levels, the mean age at retirement, and the labor force participation rate. The second part presents projections to 2050 of the impact of demographic trends on public pension expenditures in the absence of changes in pension benefits, labor force participation, and age at retirement. These projections demonstrate that current trends are unsustainable, because without reforms population aging will produce an unprecedented and harmful accumulation of public debt. A number of projection variants assess the potential impact of policy options aimed at improving the sustainability of public pension systems. Although the conventional responses are considered, particular attention is given to the demographic options of encouraging higher fertility and permitting more immigration. This analysis is illustrated with data from the seven largest OECD countries.     

Study on Standard of Population Aging

Do an increase in ageing in developed countries and"getting old before getting rich"in developing countries indicate that f luctuations in the population age structure have produced a qualitative change?What is a qualitative change and what is a quantitative change?Here we propose a new concept of Shadow Population,then establish a new standard for evaluating population age structure,finally present a typical five stage population age structure type transition model.The model simulation shows that all world regions are still in the adult stage and that population ageing belongs to the category of quantitative change.However,sustained low fertility will lead to a qualitative change in the ageing population.The current pressure of population aging in the adult stage placed on the pension security system shows that this system is truly not a sustainable system,Gradually raising the retirement age and Long-term stability in replacement fertility is the key to solving the socioeconomic development dilemma presented by future population ageing in low fertility regions or countries,but the latter is more urgent.     

Ageing-driven pension reforms

This paper stems from the observation that there are two worldwide trends, pension reform and population ageing, and asks whether the two may be related. Exploring the cases of pension reform in different countries, we find that, although they are very different, the cases share a common characteristic: they shift risks away from workers towards those who are retired. Furthermore, population ageing, by increasing the weight of the elderly relative to working generations, raises the price of intergenerational risk sharing. Combining these findings, we argue and show formally that pension reform can be seen as a welfare-best response to population ageing.     

中国城镇基本养老保险金“年龄缺口”分析——基于延长退休年龄的假设

基于我国目前城镇基本养老保险的制度设计,以及对未来中国人口老龄化的预期,可以说城镇基本养老制度,在未来所要承受巨大的挑战将是毫无疑问的。目前理论界也就此问题提出了各种解决方法以及相关的效用分析。本文通过对“延长法定退休年龄”这一解决基本养老制度压力的途径进行假设,对不同法定退休年龄状态下,从目前到2050年的时间范围内,对我国城镇基本养老保险金的“年龄缺口”进行描述和分析。从而为应对人口老龄化带来的制度压力提供理论支持。     

Einstellungen zur Alterspolitik

Like all modern societies Austria is faced with the process of demographic ageing. This paper concentrates on the question of how current policies in the field of old-age provision are being viewed and how Austrians envisage this issue for the future. Departing from an assessment of population ageing, results will be presented for the following topics:

Attitudes towards the state’s obligations and responsibilities in the field of social policies

Attitudes towards the future design of the pension system

Attitudes towards the transition into retirement and

Preferences concerning the retirement age.

The findings ultimately raise the central question of how, in view of the known economic and demographic conditions, employment and social policy can be better integrated in order to allow older employees to remain part of the workforce for a longer time.     

我国退休年龄延迟设计研究

本文针对当前我国＂未富先老＂、人口红利对经济增长的促进作用减弱及因人口老龄化进程加速而引起的社会养老负担过重等问题,依据人均预期寿命、劳动者参加工作的初始年龄和不同类型劳动对人体体力要求的差异等,就从事不同类型劳动的退休年龄标准进行了延迟设计。然后以国际上自我养老负担系数的合理取值范围为标准,就延迟设计方案的自我养老负担系数进行了测算。结果表明：延迟设计方案的退休年龄标准在当前及未来较短时期比较适合我国国情。但随着人均预期寿命的增长,也要结合自我养老负担系数的合理取值范围对退休年龄逐步调整,才能有效解决我国因人口老龄化逐步加深而引起的各种社会经济问题。本文试图为我国调整退休年龄标准提出可供借鉴的依据,进而有效地解决我国因人口老龄化逐步加深而对社会经济发展造成的负面影响。     

Beggar thy thrifty neighbour

This paper explores the international spillover effects of ageing through capital markets when countries have different pension systems. We use a two-country two-period overlapping-generations model, where the two countries only differ in their pension schemes. Two forms of population ageing are considered, namely, an increase in longevity and a fall in fertility. It is shown that, in the long run, a country using a funded pension system experiences negative spillovers from the fact that the other country uses a pay-as-you-go system. The short-run spillovers, however, are opposite to the spillovers in the long run.      

Grandparental availability for child care and maternal labor force participation: pension reform evidence from Italy

In this paper, we exploit pension reform-induced changes in retirement eligibility requirements to assess the role of grandparental childcare availability in the labor force participation of women with children under 15. Our analysis shows that, among the women studied, those whose own mothers are retirement eligible have a 11% higher probability of being in the labor force than those whose mothers are ineligible. The pension eligibility of maternal grandfathers and paternal grandparents, however, has no significant effect on the women’s labor force participation. We also demonstrate that the eligibility of maternal grandmothers mainly captures the effect of their availability for childcare. Hence, pension reforms, by potentially robbing households of an important source of flexible, low-cost childcare, could have unintended negative consequences for the employment rates of women with young children.     

美国社会保障退休金确定机制——方法、特点与启示

养老金待遇确定机制是公共养老金制度的核心内容之一。从三个方面系统研究了美国社会保障退休金确定机制:在退休年龄方面,实现了劳动关系和社会保障关系的相对分离,通过引入“全额领取年龄”建立了“早减晚增”式初始退休金调节机制;在计算办法方面,建立了基于个体的、全国统一的基本保险金额计算办法,并通过分级加权实现了收入再分配和减少老年贫困等功能;在待遇调整方面,建立了基于生活成本调整的退休金指数化自动调整机制。立足我国基本养老保险制度实践、借鉴美国退休金制度设计经验,本文认为我国基本养老保险待遇确定机制改革的方向是引入较为宽松灵活的退休政策、待遇计发与全国性指标挂钩以促进全国统筹和制度公平、增强待遇计发对参保和缴费行为的激励作用、尽快建立科学合理的待遇调整机制。     

The pension incentive to retire: empirical evidence for West Germany

In this paper, the impact of the West German pension system on the retirement decisions of elderly citizens is analyzed within the framework of a discrete-time hazard rate model deduced from a micro-economic decision rule. The model is estimated using a panel dataset of elderly West German citizens. In order to improve the precision of the estimates obtained, the data from the sample are combined with aggregate-level information on the labour force participation behaviour of the elderly. Policy simulations based on the estimates reveal that the probability of early retirement can be reduced significantly by appropriate changes in the pension system. JEL classification: C32, C41, J26 Received September 6, 1995 / Accepted: August 28, 1996     

老龄多人口死亡率联合建模与一致性预测

退休年龄以上的老年人群死亡率预测是养老金精算和长寿风险度量的基础。针对我国大陆地区退休年龄以上人群死亡率数据量较小且波动较大的问题,借助多人口联合建模思想,基于单人口CBD模型,提出了一个适用于老龄死亡率建模的Logistic多人口模型。通过加入更多相关人口数据信息来预测我国老年人口死亡率,选取我国台湾地区分性别死亡率相关数据,与我国大陆地区分性别死亡率数据进行联合建模。研究发现,Logistic多人口死亡率模型比单人口CBD模型表现出更好的拟合效果和长期预测一致性效果。     

Changing Australia’s Age Pension Qualification Age: Modelling Differential Effects by Race

Increasing the age at which people are eligible for the age pension is one mechanism by which governments of developed nations are attempting to manage increasing costs associated with population ageing. In Australia, there are a number of groups within the population who may be affected in unintended ways by increasing the eligibility age to 70 years by the year 2035, as was proposed in the 2014 Federal Budget. Most notably, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians currently with an average at birth life expectancy of 69.1 years for males and 73.7 years for females, nearly 11 years less than non-Indigenous Australians, may be the most affected. This study explores the consequences of the proposed future amendments to the age pension eligibility age, using projections of the likely age structures of future populations to estimate expected years of life remaining after reaching pension age. Despite projected improvements for Indigenous life expectancies, increasing the pension eligibility age under the schedule proposed in the policy would significantly reduce the expected years in post pension age, thus countering some of the anticipated benefits flowing from expected future life expectancy increases. However, if the eligibility age were to be increased more gradually, Indigenous Australians would be afforded a greater opportunity to access age pension benefits, whilst still reducing the length of time the non-Indigenous population is eligible to access the age pension, thus fulfilling policy objectives to manage increasing costs associated with population ageing.     

The impact of minority group status on the projected retirement income of divorced women in the baby boom cohort

Using projections from the Social Security Administration's Modeling Income in the Near Term (MINT1), we examine the characteristics and retirement income of white non-Hispanic, black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic divorced women in the baby boom cohort. Although we find significant differences in retirement income for divorced women of different racial and ethnic groups, the characteristics associated with higher or lower retirement income are very similar. That is, being college educated, owning a home, and having pension and asset income, for example, correspond to increased retirement income for all racial and ethnic groups. However, because black and Hispanic women are less likely than white women to be college educated, to own their home, and to have pension and asset income, their retirement income tends to be lower than that of white women. We conclude the paper by briefly discussing policy options to address the retirement needs of divorced women.     

Demographic change and social security

This paper gives an overview over some central aspects of the highly complex topic, pointing out, e.g. the need for more longitudinal research in understanding effects of structural changes in demography and economy on social security. Starting from challenges by an ageing population for health and pension schemes it is briefly discussed whether changes in labour force participation or restructuring public expenditure can soften financing problems. Concerning reforms in pension schemes first changing retirement ages is briefly discussed and then some of the shortcomings in the debate on capital funding versus pay-as-you-go fincancing.Revised, updated and extended version of a lecture, given at the First Annual Congress of the European Society for Population Economics, Rotterdam, September 18, 1987. Revision and extension were inspired by two referees.     

养老金性别差异影响因素分析——以上海城镇“老人”为例

为了了解养老金性别差异的影响因素及各因素的影响程度,通过对2003年上海市老年人口状况与意愿跟踪调查原始数据的多元线性回归分析,本研究发现：．女性城镇“老人”在受教育年限、退休年龄和退休前职业等方面较男性城镇“老人”均处于劣势：不同特征女性城镇“老人”养老金整体上低于男性城镇“老人”：退休年龄和受教育年限对养老金的性别差异有较强的解释力;退休年份越晚,养老金的性别差异由退休年龄和受教育年限解释的比重越高。     

我国应谨慎出台延迟退休政策

随着人口老龄化程度的加深,延迟退休年龄的话题近年来络绎不绝地出现在各大报章,同时在网络上引起热烈讨论,提高退休年龄似乎已势在必行。然而从我国现阶段的基本国情出发,延迟退休的政策应从长计议,谨慎出台。本文从延迟退休年龄与养老保险制度、老年人力资源利用、劳动力就业三方面的关系出发,论述了延长退休年龄应注意的几个问题,并提出对策建议。     

弹性退休制度与养老保险保障制度整合初论

弹性退休政策是退休养老保险保障制度的重要组成部分,是退休制度与养老保险保障制度整合的重要制度链。实施弹性退休政策有其内在的经济学与社会学理论依据,弹性退休制度对养老保险保障制度产生根本性影响,完善弹性退休政策的激励机制是实施弹性退休政策的基本前提。     

我国社会养老保险经济成本分析

据世界银行的资料显示,到21世纪上半叶,中国国民生产总值可占世界总量的10%,但却要负担世界20-25%的老年人,在未富先老的严峻形势下,完善当前的养老保险制度安排,保证养老保险制度的财务可持续性显得尤为重要。本文从社会养老保险运行经济成本的角度,分析了我国1997年转制前后养老保险经济成本的变化趋势及主要原因,并给出了保持适度养老金经济成本的主要路径。