On November 20, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced that it is conducting in-depth research on the issue of progressively delaying the retirement age, and stated that in the process of formulating a plan to delay the retirement age, the opinions of all sectors of society will be fully considered. Opinions and views, comprehensive and balanced.

Why delay retirement? When will retirement be postponed? Is it because the pension is not enough? Let’s take a look at the answers from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security to these questions that everyone is concerned about.

Why delay retirement?

Yin Weimin, Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said during this year’s two sessions that the current retirement age policy was established in the early 1950s. At that time, my country’s population life expectancy was less than 50 years old. Now the national conditions have changed dramatically, and the population The life expectancy has reached more than 70 years, and it is necessary to adjust it according to the actual situation.

Currently, our country is facing tremendous pressure from an aging population, and the labor supply situation is severe.

It is predicted that in 2050, the proportion of people over 60 years old in my country's total population will reach 38.6%. At present, the dependency ratio of employee pension insurance is 3.04:1, that is, three people support one person. By 2050, it will drop to 1.3:1, with 1.3 people supporting one person. Internationally, delaying the retirement age is a common practice in various countries to deal with population aging. Since 1989, 170 countries around the world have delayed their retirement ages.

In addition, in many professional and technical positions, people in their 50s and 60s are at the stage of rich experience and proficiency in skills. The elasticity of substitution of this type of high-end human resources is relatively low. If these people retire prematurely, it will be a huge waste of human capital.

In fact, the current retirement age in all countries in the world, except for some countries in Africa, is 65 or 67 years old. In contrast, the average retirement age in my country is less than At 55 years old, it is the country with the earliest retirement age in the world.

What is the progressive retirement age?

The progressive retirement age policy is a policy commonly adopted by countries around the world, especially in some developed countries.

What exactly is "progressive"? It will take a longer period of time to gradually reach the goal of raising the statutory retirement age. Although the pace may be fast or slow, the overall progress is gradual. According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, it can be summarized in eight words - "take small steps slowly, gradually reach the goal", that is, the retirement age will only be extended for a few months every year, and it will take a long time to reach the legal retirement age.

So, if you are already at the original retirement age when the policy is implemented, it is most likely that it will only be extended by a few months based on the original retirement age.

When will delayed retirement be implemented?

According to reports, before implementing the delayed retirement policy, the plan will be announced first, and the implementation time will be at least five years later to give everyone a psychological expectation. According to the previous assumptions and plans of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the delayed retirement policy still needs to go through several processes including formulation, public solicitation of opinions, reporting to the central government, and announcement. There will be a buffer period of several years after the announcement. Therefore, people who are facing retirement in the next few years should have "no pressure" about it.

Will delaying retirement affect my pension payment?

Yin Weimin once said that the future balance of payments of pension insurance funds is indeed facing tremendous pressure. Moreover, since enterprise employee pension insurance is coordinated at the provincial level, there is an imbalance between regions.

But it is very clear that the overall operation of pension insurance is currently stable, and "everyone's pension is guaranteed." Whether it is the pension insurance for enterprise employees or the pension insurance for urban and rural residents, the income exceeds the expenditure, which not only ensures the payment of benefits, but also leaves a slight balance.

Taking data from the first 10 months of this year as an example, the country’s total fund income exceeds total expenditure by more than 210 billion yuan, and the cumulative balance of funds in most provinces exceeds the fund payment amount for more than 8 months, which can ensure Current pension insurance benefits are paid.

How to ensure pension benefits?

In 2014, data released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security showed that the cumulative balance of my country’s enterprise employee pension insurance was 3.06 trillion yuan, and the cumulative balance of urban and rural residents’ pension insurance was 384.3 billion yuan. The average rate of return on pension funds is only 2.32%, which is lower than the level of price increases in most years, and faces a great risk of depreciation. How can you ensure that the value of such a large amount of money is maintained and increased?

In June this year, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the "Basic Pension Insurance Fund Investment Management Measures" to solicit public opinions.

This new regulation completely lifts the curse that "pension funds cannot invest in the stock market". Under the premise of domestic investment, the scope of pension fund investment has been expanded. In the past, it could only deposit in banks and buy government bonds, but now it is listed on the market. You can buy circulating securities investment funds, stocks, equity, stock index futures, etc.

In fact, Guangdong Province has already tried it. In 2012, with the approval of the State Council and entrusted by the Guangdong Provincial Government, the National Council for Social Security Fund was responsible for investing and operating the basic pension insurance balance for enterprise employees in Guangdong Province of 100 billion yuan. The rate of return in 2013 reached 6.2%, outperforming the 2.6% in the same period. Inflation rate.

At the same time, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will increase the expansion of social insurance collection and collection, implement national coordination of basic pensions, accelerate the development of a multi-level pension insurance system, and continue to enhance the support capacity of pensions.

How to ensure the safety of pensions?

Pension funds have entered the market to achieve diversified and professional investments. Some netizens are worried, "This will increase the risk. What should I do if I lose money?"

Li Zhong, spokesperson of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said that pension insurance funds are the life-saving money of the people, and ensuring the absolute safety of pensions is always the first issue to be considered.

First of all, the state implements strict supervision over various social insurance funds. Social insurance funds are deposited in special fiscal accounts, managed on two lines of revenue and expenditure, and are earmarked for special purposes. No organization or individual may embezzle or misappropriate them. Once there is any misappropriation or misappropriation of social security funds, we will investigate and deal with each case to ensure the safety and integrity of various social insurance funds.

Secondly, for investment behavior, comprehensive supervision will also be carried out in terms of management institutions, asset allocation strategies, information disclosure systems, etc. In order to effectively balance risks and returns, the new regulations set a "red line": the total proportion of investment in stocks, stock funds, hybrid funds, and stock-based pension products shall not exceed 30% of the fund's net asset value.

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