The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) responded to the issues of pension insurance system and delayed retirement, which quickly sparked a hot debate on the internet.
On Feb. 26, China’s State Information Office held a press conference on employment and social security. The person in charge of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security responded to hot issues such as the pension insurance system and delayed retirement. The news quickly sparked a lot of debate on the Internet.
According to Interface News, Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Youjun said at the conference that the current retirement age in China is generally low, which does not match the per capita Life expectancy, does not adapt to the changes in population structure and the development trend of aging, and does not adapt to the changes in labor supply and demand, resulting in a waste of human resources. Internationally, delaying the retirement age is a common practice for countries around the world to cope with the aging of the population. At present, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security is working with relevant departments to study specific reform proposals, and will listen to the views of various parties.
You Jun said, it is expected that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s elderly population will exceed 300 million people, entering the stage of moderate aging. The number of working-age people will decrease by 35 million. The average number of years of Education in China has reached 13.7 years, and the age of starting to work has been pushed back accordingly, resulting in a decrease in the utilization of human capital.
And in recent decades, most countries have raised the retirement age to varying degrees, and now the retirement age in the world’s major economies is generally above 65.
Speaking on the pension issue, Youjun said China is drawing on international experience and summarizing domestic pilot experiences to consider establishing a third level of personal pension system.
The news from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security quickly sparked online buzz, with more than 10,000 netizens participating in the topic within just a few hours and a chorus of opposition in the comment section.
Sina Weibo users said that 60-year-olds actually face many health problems, which company would want them? Nowadays, recruitment basically ends at the age of 40, and many companies no longer employ people over the age of 35. After the delayed retirement, will there be an employment crisis for the elderly, but they are not yet old enough to receive a pension. Can’t they get a pension so they can go drink the northwest wind? Or, the elderly occupy positions that belong to young people, causing a large number of young people to be unable to find jobs. Therefore, the policy of delaying retirement is needed to be supported and complemented by a corresponding unemployment benefit policy. Not a simple thing.
“To put it bluntly, don’t care if you have a job, just let you pay more years of insurance and then pay less after the Time delay.”
A netizen said; “Let’s not talk about delaying retirement, you first make sure that our workers who work (not leading cadres) get the salary bonus they deserve (legally) before talking about delaying retirement.”
“When comparing the retirement age (with other countries), can you compare the benefits? Compare hours worked? Selective comparison interesting?”
Other netizens said bluntly, “Shame on you!” “Let’s solve the problem of excessive pension disparity first!”
In the press conference on Feb. 26, a reporter mentioned that the policy of “reducing and waiving” social insurance premiums during the Epidemic had expired at the end of 2020, and whether there would be a new policy of reducing or lowering fees in 2021.
Nie Mingjun, director of the Department of Pension Insurance of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, replied that social insurance premiums were reduced or waived by more than 1.5 trillion yuan in one year last year, and the phased reduction of social insurance premiums was a temporary support policy that expired at the end of last year. The three social insurance premiums have resumed normal collection since Jan. 1 this year according to the regulations.
Business First reported that the pension insurance fund has seen an unprecedentedly large reduction in revenue in 2020. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has predicted that the accumulated balance of corporate pension insurance funds will drop from 5 trillion yuan at the end of 2019 to 3.8 trillion yuan at the end of 2020.
According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the overall support capacity of the pension insurance fund has weakened at present. Considering the accelerated aging of the population and the operation of the pension insurance system, if the rates are lowered further, the fund’s reduction in revenue will be too large and may affect the smooth operation and sustainable development of the system. Therefore, there are no conditions to further reduce the contribution ratio and base.
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