| Public pension system not only plays an important role in Social Security, but also takes an essential part in socio-economic system.The establishment and improvement of the public pension system, which can be adjusted with the socio-economic development level, is not only an inevitable requirement for the coordinated development of modern society, but an important guarantee of maintaining social s stability of the state. Based on the elaboration of history and reforming process, this paper discusses the economic effects of Japan’s public pension system, especially on enterprise development、national saving、national consumption、country’s financial revenue and labor market. With the consideration of the influence of reforming on financial expenses and pension burden, a final proposition is put forward to further improve Japan’s public pension system.For the present,"institutional problem" and "financial problem" are the main problems of Japan’s public pension system."Institutional problem" refers to the serious problems of benefits proportion and application scope, which means the fairness and efficiency need to be improved."Financial problem" refers to financial problems and fiscal pressure that faced by the pay-as-you-go public pension system, due to the aging of population.Based on the consideration of general principles of the economics and socioeconomic background, this paper reveals the important role that public pension system plays in the modern social economy, by pointing out the situation that the aged in Japan are highly dependent on the public pension, by elaborating its characteristics of different periods especially since the Second World War, As after the World War Ⅱ the reforms of public pension system are emphasizing on the formation of two-tiered system and building of public pension system for all Japanese.Based on the analysis in this paper, a final proposition on reform method and development direction is put forward. This essay examines whether the public pension should be financed by a consumption tax or essentially by participants’contributions, and whether the pay-as-you-go system should be changed to fund accumulation system. This paper also elaborates the integrated revolution of public pension system and how to narrow the generation gap on public pension. Combining the experiences of Japan’s public pension system with the present situation of China’s public pension system, some suggestions on the directions’development and policy choices are put forward.Japan’s public pension system is currently a two-tiered system, consisted by a universal pension-the National Pension(or basic pension) and the Employees’Pension Insurance(EPI) for salaried workers and Mutual Aid Pensions for government employees. The insured are divided into three groups under Japan’s public pension plans. Type1refers to the self-employed in agriculture、forestry and fishing industry. Type2are members of the EPI and the Mutual Aid Associations. Type3are spouses of type2contributors. The financial deficit of National Pension became more and more serious since2002. The surplus of EPI has declined annually since1998and finally ends to a deficit in2005. After2005, due to the increase of unemployment rate and economic recession, the contributions of public pension seriously descended and the financial deficit extended rapidly, what’s more, other pensions are found to have deficit problems gradually.Considering the descending of fertility and the lengthening of life expectancy, Japan has reformed the public pension system in various dimensions by increasing contribution rates, cutting benefits, and prolonging the time of starting the insurance. However, in the process of pension reform, many problems has emerged, such as the unfairness and financial burden. Facing these problems, the Japanese government implemented a pension reform in2004, which intended to assure everyone that pensions would be secured for the next100years. The methods of reform are as follow:the government will not rise the premium rate and will carry out "floating rate adjustment mechanism" to adjust the balance of the pension payment and keep the sustainable development, finally, strengthen the public trust. However, due to the long time deflation and the unfairness of the public pension, this adjustment mechanism can hardly work. Japanese government needs to get rid of the economic difficulties as soon as possible, then, further reform the public pension system. In addition, Japan carried out the financial structure for "partial accumulations" and have a pension fund of120trillion Japan Yen, so it is very important for government to rise the rate of return on investment and rebuild the financial balance.The impacts of Japan’s public pension system on economy are mainly manifested in the following aspects:1.increase the production cost and reduce the international competitiveness of enterprises;2.restrainthe labor market demand, reduce the social productivity and have a bad influence on the growth in labor productivity;3.make the consumer market worse, for the individuals and households are under consuming.4.reduce personal and family’s savings and increase the fiscal burden.Japanese government should take reforms in the consideration of Japan’s population structure and socioeconomic changes, effectively solve the financial deficit, and insure the sustainable development. Here are some proposals for the reform of public pension system:1.change fixed premium to adjustable endowment premium,2.make the informal staff enroll in the Employees’ Pension Insurance, expand the scope of EPI, and the burden of type3-insured person should be taken over to their families, thus improving the fairness of public pension system,4.establish the personal pension account based on earning (under partial accumulation), and basic pension system should run as the pay-as-you-go system to make sure the benefits of the aged,5.unify the insurance rate and insurance conditions of EPI as well as mutual aid associations, gradually change the mutual aid associations into EPI and promote the integration of the reform. The suggestions of relieving the financial deficit are as follows:1.moderately prolong the time of starting the insurance, encourage the aged back to work, alleviate the pension burden and labor deficiency.2.up-regulate the floating adjustment rate, strengthen the macro-economic floating rate adjustment system.3.moderately reduce the pension payment standards of high income families, ensure the balance of public pension benefits in the consideration of the ratio of the working-age population to the retired population.4.introduce the ear-marked consumption tax or raise the present consumption tax, keep the sustainable development of the public pension system.To build a sound public pension system in China, there are some proposals for the government. First, raise the management levels of public pension system ensure the balance between contributions and benefits and eliminate the differences between regions and industries. Second, increase the financial input, raise the ratio of social security expenditure to GDP and extend the coverage of beneficiaries of public pension. Third, expand the investment channels for the endowment insurance fund, standardize the investment operational pattern and build management organizations with good investment ability as well as powerful anti-risk ability. |
PDF Full Text Request