Providing for the aged is an unavoidable problem for everyone.
how to support the elderly? Pension insurance paid at work and pension received after retirement?
Japan, the country with the fastest aging trend and the most serious aging in the world, is now facing a huge pension gap.
It has a total population of 127 million, of which over 3 million are elderly people over 65, while the population under 14 is only about 16.47 million. More and more old people receive money, and fewer and fewer young people pay.
the Japanese government pension investment fund (GPIF) is the largest pension fund in the world, managing 121 trillion yen (about 1.24 trillion US dollars, accounting for 2.8% of Japan's GDP in 212). In addition, other public pensions in Japan total about $1 trillion.
It is estimated that the long-term gap of Japanese public pension is as high as 6 trillion yen (about 6 trillion US dollars) due to aging and declining birthrate.
In the past few years, Japan has used pension reserves to make up for the current pension gap, and made up for it by issuing government bonds and increasing consumption tax. In order to dismantle this long-term time bomb, in the past decades, the Japanese government has continuously adjusted the pension insurance payment system, and delayed the retirement age (61 in 213, and then increased by one year every three years, until it was adjusted to 65 in 225), trying to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.
Pensions don't fall from the sky. Either way, the wool will end up on the sheep.
You may ask, why does Japan adopt the pay-as-you-go pension system and pay the pensions paid by itself to the retirees now, instead of adopting the pension accumulation system and enjoying the pension insurance paid by itself exclusively after retirement? The problem is, if the pension accumulation system is implemented across the board, what will happen to a large number of retired old people who have not paid or only paid a small amount of pension insurance before? They have devoted their lives to the country and society. Can they only be poor when they are old?
That's why the Japanese government has been slow to fundamentally reform the pension system. Its old-age insurance system has a history of more than 7 years. In the last few decades, it "lived beyond its means", and when it suddenly looked back, it found that it had been burdened with hundreds of trillion yen of pension debt.
On the other hand, China, according to the statistics of the Office of the National Committee on Aging in September this year, by the end of 213, the number of elderly people aged 6 and above will exceed 2 million, making it the only country in the world with over 1 million elderly people. Moreover, we get old before we get rich, and the old-age insurance system has only a history of more than 2 years. Compared with Japan, the reserves are smaller and the long-term pressure is greater.
The 212 annual report of the National Social Security Fund shows that its total assets exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the first time, reaching 1,16.37 billion yuan (about .18 trillion US dollars). In December last year, Dai Xianglong, then chairman of the National Social Security Fund Council, pointed out that the ratio of pension reserve to GDP was over 2% in Japan and only about 2% in China. In the medium and long term, there is indeed a gap in our pension. "Don't avoid this problem, tell everyone that we have a gap, we have ways, and we can balance it."
how to improve the pension system, how to make up the pension gap, and how to provide the citizens with a sense of security?
This issue focuses on Japan, which has many similarities with us in the issue of providing for the aged, and introduces the stories, modes and modes of providing for the aged of Japanese people, and how to solve the problem of pension gap.
The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, which closed in the middle of this month, has made arrangements for releasing the second child and delaying the retirement age.
Compared with the countries that are at the forefront in the issue of old-age care, we can do more: abolish the dual-track pension system, let civil servants pay old-age insurance, enjoy the same pension benefits as enterprise employees, and make up for the gap while reducing the financial burden; Building a beautiful living environment, providing safe and secure food, further improving and protecting public health, etc., so that citizens can have a strong body; Increase financial investment in public pension facilities and relax and encourage the involvement of private pension institutions; Increase the allocation of state-owned assets (such as the allocation of profits from central enterprises), expand the national social security reserve funds, and deal with the pension gap caused by aging ...
In the final analysis, the government should be responsible for providing for the elderly and ensure that citizens enjoy basic survival guarantee in their later years; Individuals should take precautions in order to let their elderly have a relatively high quality of life.
Japanese elderly people shopping in the supermarket (left); In 212, there were 11.92 million elderly people over 6 who were still working in Japan, accounting for 2% of the total labor force.
report on the survival of the elderly in Japan
You will feel guilty if you send your parents to a nursing home, and you will feel hate if you take care of them at home for a long time
213-11-24
On September 17, 212, in Tokyo, Japan, a group of elderly people used wooden dumbbells to exercise outdoors. The pressure of old-age care brought by aging has overwhelmed many Japanese families.
Hirodao Takeuchi takes care of her 93-year-old mother at home and dresses her in Tokyo, Japan.
Contributed by Zheng Xin Anjing from Japan
What do Japanese people rely on for their old age? How's life in old age? Express recently invited Chinese media reporters who have worked in Japan for many years to interview the lives of Japanese elderly people of different classes. Although these old people's pension modes are different, they all vividly reflect the sufferings brought by insufficient pension, poverty caused by illness, different pension concepts and changes in family relations.
"People can't support their old age by pension alone." This is the conclusion reached by the front-line staff of Japanese pension institutions. An old man who lives alone with little savings and lives on a pension is actually in a very bad situation. In order to save the cost of old-age care, some Japanese old people tear diapers in half and use them. The used diapers are dried and reused, and they dare not turn on the air conditioner in the heat. There are only one egg and one radish for three meals a day.
Japan's pension dilemma has sounded a wake-up call for us.
"A nursing home is a mountain where old people used to be thrown away"
Oral speaker: Junko Migu, 61, lives in Nagoya.
My mother's name is Keiko Sangu. She is 86 years old and lives in a nursing home. She receives the most basic pension (national annuity), 6, yen per month (about 16.5 yen in 1 yuan, the same below), which is not enough. The most common nursing home costs 8, yen per month.
I am 61 years old and live alone, half an hour's drive from the nursing home. My brother is 58 years old and lives with his children. It's an hour's drive from the nursing home.
My mother lived in a nursing home six months ago. She used to live there for a short time. I don't want to tell her that I will stay there for a long time. Please ask the staff there to help me. Short-term stay is to reduce the pressure of home care for the elderly and let the elderly stay for 1 -4 weeks.
When my mother learned that she was going to stay for a long time, she said, "A nursing home is a mountain where old people used to be thrown away." (Editor's Note: According to historical records, in ancient Japan, in order to reduce the burden on the country and family, people over 6 years old were taken to the mountains and thrown away.) I felt very uncomfortable in my heart, but I really couldn't persist.
ten years ago, she had a stroke and lived in a wheelchair. She could go to the toilet by herself during the day and let her use the bedpan at night for fear that she would fall. I empty the bedpan and wash it for her before going to work every day, and put the food on the table. Don't worry about the rest, she needs level 3 care, and the nurse comes to her house twice a week to bathe and wash her clothes. After work, I have to go home immediately to prepare dinner for her. If nothing happens, my brother will visit occasionally.
once, I got a phone call at work, and my brother said that when I entered the house, my mother fell to the ground. It turned out that after going to the toilet, she couldn't stand up, fell off her wheelchair and couldn't move. After this happened, I often suddenly thought, "Is she okay at home?" when I went to work, and I rushed back immediately after work.
to tell you the truth, I'm exhausted after more than ten years. The moment I began to feel relaxed was when my mother stayed in a nursing home for a short time. Generally, she would go to a nursing home every two months. In those days, I can have dinner with my colleagues after work. I have been divorced for many years, and I usually live a simple life, so I feel happy with my colleagues.
I feel that I spend time and energy taking care of my mother, perhaps because we spend too much time together, and we are not in a good mood when we are together. She doesn't eat when I cook. When I go out, she has to ask "Where are you going" for a long time. I feel particularly tired. I really want to be a filial daughter, but I can't be satisfied with each other.
One day, I watched a TV series, in which a male policeman told his colleagues that his father in a nursing home wanted to go home very much. If he took it back, he would quit his job to take care of his father, and he certainly could not work as a policeman with uncertain working hours. Colleagues told him: "If you don't take him back, you will regret it;" If you take him back, you will hate him. " When I heard this, I was shocked that life is like this. I sent my mother to a nursing home, with a sense of guilt and fond memories of my mother; If you don't send them, those good memories will be lost ...
In short, you can't have it both ways. I will go to a nursing home when I am old. This kind of loneliness and entanglement is probably an unavoidable life topic for many people.
"A married daughter should have her own life"
Oral speaker: Chengshan Meizi, aged 77, lives in Yokohama.
My husband is 8 years old, and we live in our own Japanese-style two-story building.
He used to be the director of the hospital. He was paralyzed by a stroke shortly after he retired more than 1 years ago. He can receive a pension of 22, yen every month (for the employees of the enterprise), and he has a dividend when he retires, so he is basically not worried about the economy.
We have two daughters. One daughter got married in America. Before her husband fell ill, we visited them in America. Another daughter used to live nearby and often came to see us. Three years ago, because of her son-in-law's job transfer, she moved to Gunma, which is 2 hours' drive from here.
Although we are old and he is still in bed, the married daughter should have her own life, and it is only natural that she should move away with her husband.
There is nothing inconvenient in life. I am used to sleeping in the bedroom on the second floor, and my husband sleeps in the room next to the living room on the first floor. His bed can take off and land electrically. I sleep at night with the door open in case I can't hear him calling me. I can see him in the kitchen and living room during the day.
food and daily necessities can be delivered to your home, just pay by bank transfer. The husband needs 4-level care, and the nursing staff comes to his house three times a week to bathe, cut hair, wash clothes and clean his room. It is also convenient in medical treatment. I can call his former colleagues to have a look.
I can still take care of myself, so my life is quite good. In the past, my husband was the dean, male chauvinism, and he was unsmiling when he came home. I was around him almost all day. Now that he is lying in need of service, his temper has changed. I occasionally want to go to the exhibition, soak in hot springs and go out for a walk with my old friends, so I told my daughter in advance that she would come to stay with me for a day or two and take care of my father.
I hope I can move freely for as long as possible. When I am inconvenient to move, I have to rely on someone to deliver my box lunch and someone will take care of me. I hope to die at home.
"The news that the old man died alone at home changed the channel"
Oral speaker: Masahiro Murakami, 47, living in Kyushu.
My mother's name is Masako Murakami. She is 83 years old and lives alone in the rural area of Fukushima. I need to fly to visit her now.
After my father died five years ago, my mother lived with us, and she received a survivor's pension of 12, yen per month (a pension that my wife can enjoy after her husband died).
After the Fukushima nuclear leak caused by the earthquake in Japan in p>211, our family once took refuge. After half a year, we can go home, but the air, soil and water have high levels of radioactive substances, and many families with children have moved out of Fukushima.
My wife's hometown is in Kyushu, which is in the south of Japan. My mother-in-law asked us all to move there. Her family is in the countryside, and she has land and a house. I tried to apply for a job online. During the interview, my family went to Kyushu for a few days, and I felt that I was afraid of nuclear radiation and didn't dare to go out more. We decided to move after discussion, and of course we wanted to take my mother with us.
mom hesitated for two days and finally refused to move out with us. She said she didn't want to leave the land where she had lived all her life, or she might not want to drag us down. But she supports us to move out. After all, our grandson is only in his teens, and it is more important for children to prevent nuclear radiation than adults.
Now, my mother can take care of herself and live alone in Fukushima. In that area, many old people don't adapt to the new life after moving, preferring not to go with their children and live alone. I bought a mobile phone for my mother and connected it to my mobile phone, so I can see how many roads she walks every day. In addition, if there is any accident, she only needs to press the button in the middle of the phone, and I can get the information here. Alas, even if you know, it is often beyond your reach.
I'm still looking for nursing homes online, but they're not close, and it will take years to get a vacancy. Mom may not be able to accept going to a nursing home either. Her generation likes to die at home.
Although my mother enjoys the nursing service of nursing insurance, there will be a special person to deliver lunch and visit regularly, but every time I see the news that an old man died alone at home on TV, I quickly change the channel, and I am very scared and escape from this problem.
"The pension is not enough, so it is too difficult to find a job"
Oral speaker: Ju Chi Yu, 69 years old, lives in Chiba Prefecture.
I live with my 68-year-old wife. My two sons and one daughter are in Tokyo. They come back every summer and New Year's Day.
In the past, Japan retired at the age of 6 and was entitled to a pension, but it began to postpone retirement a few years ago. I used to work for myself and decorate the interior of the house. I belong to a craftsman. Now these jobs are usually done by big companies, so it is difficult for a solo person like me to get a job.
When I retired, I rushed to go through the formalities, only to know that people like me can only receive the minimum pension (national pension, about 6, yen/month), plus my wife's pension, which is only about 1, yen per month, which is simply not enough. I thought it was over, how can I live this life?
My wife has always been a housewife, raising three children with great pains. However, children have their own lives, and it is not easy for young people now. It is very good to find a job and rent a house. Two married children have to support their families. No matter how difficult we are, we can't add extra financial burden to them. On holidays, we feel very happy when the children can come to see and buy a bottle of wine.
I don't think the pension is enough to support two people at all, so I plan to find another job after retirement. My wife saw that I was working too hard and went to the city government to apply for a minimum living allowance without telling me. To be honest, I have been making money by handicrafts, and I feel uncomfortable with taking a minimum living allowance. I am also afraid that the government will come to check whether we really have difficulties in life.
One year, my daughter was filial to us and took us to a hot spring. After returning, the person in charge of the subsistence allowance came to ask, "How can you still have money to travel?"
I decided not to have this subsistence allowance, and I chose to find a job to support my old age. I am not afraid of getting up early and want to deliver newspapers, but people dislike me for being old and unable to move newspapers. I want to be a doorman. They hate me for being old. In case a thief comes, I can't stop it ... Finally, a former customer, who works as a manager in a supermarket, asked me to go in and work as a temporary worker: put back the vegetable baskets used by customers, pick up the garbage on the ground, and replace the garbage bags in the store in time when they are full. This requires careful and eye-catching work.
I can earn 9 yen an hour, and I can earn about 15, yen a month. This is the limit of my strength.
"I am getting old, and my children are still gnawing at the old"
Oral speaker: front-line staff of Japanese pension institutions.
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