Research On The Integration Of Basic Endowment Insurance System Under The Guidance Of Substantial Fairness

Fairness is the most fundamental value of the pension insurance system and the key to the adequate performance of the system.However,there is a path dependence on fragmentation in the historical process of creating and reforming China’s basic pension insurance system.The two major system platforms,namely the basic pension insurance for employees and the basic pension insurance for urban and rural residents,have been formed,showing evident "urban-rural fragmentation".The system presents an apparent characteristic of "geographical division".China’s basic pension insurance system has made significant progress in equity and sustainability after a series of pension insurance parameter adjustments and system reforms.However,the fragmentation of the pension system has not yet been fundamentally reversed,nor has it been able to establish a long-term pension reserve to cope with the impact of population ageing.When unbalanced and insufficient development has become a principal social contradiction,a long-term integration will help promote the highquality development of the basic pension insurance system.It is urgent to solidly promote the urban-rural integration of basic pension insurance and promote social equity and justice under the premise of clarifying the value orientation of the system.This paper takes the most fundamental value pursuit of the pension insurance system-substantive fairness as the target orientation and studies the issues related to the urban-rural coordination of basic pension insurance.Firstly,this paper examines the theoretical basis of urban-rural coordination of basic pension insurance.Based on identifying the substantive fairness of pension insurance as the organic unity of equal rights,equal opportunities and consistent rules,this paper examines the goal of urbanrural coordination under the guidance of substantive fairness.It proposes three ways to realize urban-rural coordination: adjustment of basic pension treatment,optimization of contribution incentive mechanism and integration of basic pension insurance system.Secondly,this paper analyzes the motives in realistic for promoting urban-rural integration from three levels,including the current development status of the basic pension insurance system,system equity,and the feeling of equity of participation.It also argues the rationality and necessity of promoting urban-rural integration.Furthermore,this paper studies the policy effects of basic pension and contribution subsidy mechanisms on urban-rural integration of basic pension insurance.It analyzes the adjustment effect of the basic pension on the income gap between urban and rural pensions and the mechanism of enhancing the subjective welfare of insured people by determining the standard of agreeable treatment of basic pension.Finally,this paper examines the concept of integration of the basic pension insurance system.It forms a complete research framework by proposing the path of urban-rural integration and examining the relevant institutional arrangements under the integration concept.The research in this paper is guided by the question," What is urban-rural integration? Why urban-rural integration? How to promote urban-rural integration?".It follows the evolutionary logic,from theoretical framework to realistic motivation,from policy effect to policy optimization,and from integrating path to system integration conception.Finally,it forms a research framework of policy optimization in the sense of economics.Overall,the research conclusions drawn in this paper are as follows:Firstly,based on the analysis and interpretation of the substantive fairness of pension insurance,this paper proposes that the goal of integrating the basic pension insurance system is to enable all members of society to enjoy roughly equal basic pension security with a unified institutional framework.The system applies consistent account accumulation rules;people participate in pension insurance equally and achieve account accumulation and free succession.Under the value orientation of substantive equity,this paper identifies the fundamental goal of urban-rural integration of basic pension insurance as the integration at the service level and treatment level.In contrast,the long-term goal is integration at the system level.By considering the diagnosis of constraints of urban-rural integration and international experience of multi-level pension system construction,it proposes the ways to achieve urban-rural integration,such as adjusting basic pension treatment,optimizing contribution incentive mechanisms and integrating basic pension insurance system.Secondly,in demonstrating the real motives for urban-rural integration of the basic pension insurance system,this paper finds that equal rights are the most critical factor to achieving substantive equity in pension insurance through constructing and measuring the evaluation index system.The most critical direction to focus on is the moderate level of pensions,the optimal system coverage and the convenience of transfer and continuity.At the same time,the disparity of pension benefits between regions and populations should be reduced as much as possible to enhance the insured’s happiness and sense of access.Third,by studying the policy effects of the basic pension,it should be calculated based on the per capita disposable income of local urban and rural residents.The target replacement rate should be set at 20%,and the principles of stable and sufficient,fair to the group and affordable to the financial sector should be used as the mechanism to adjust the pension treatment.Adjusting basic pension treatment can effectively reduce the income gap between urban and rural pensions,but it will significantly increase the financial burden.Meanwhile,the basic pension can enhance the subjective welfare of the insured people,the mechanism of which can be divided into income effect and redistribution effect.Fourth,the fixed contribution subsidy and the subsidy of years cannot affect the choice of contribution levels of urban and rural residents.However,the progressive contribution subsidy can increase the willingness of some insured residents to contribute.The basic pension has a "crowding-out effect" on the motivation of insured residents to contribute,and the residents in the more backward areas are less sensitive to the change of the subsidy policy.Fifth,the urban-rural coordination of basic pension insurance should adopt a "step-by-step" path strategy.Realize the urban-rural coordination at the level of operation services at first,then realize the urban-rural coordination at the treatment level,and then promote the urban-rural coordination at the system level after the conditions mature.Sixth,it proposes an integration concept of the basic pension insurance system,which integrates the basic pension of urban and rural residential insurance and the employee’s pension into a national pension.Regardless of the difference between urban and rural areas,the insured nationals acquire the same target replacement rate and transfer rules as a non-contributory pension allowance to ensure basic living needs.The individual accounts of the workplace and residence insurance are integrated into the national pension.Moreover,the accounts and operations are unified,and the same rules for treatment and payment apply.Different payment methods will be provided to insured people.The insured person with an employer could contribute based on the proportion of the taxable wage.The government would provide certain subsidies on behalf of the employer so that the insured person without an employer receives the contribution subsidy according to the different fixed subsidy levels.Based on the above results,this paper draws the following policy insights.First,it should adhere to the value orientation of fairness and improve the top-level design of the basic pension insurance system.In the process of deepening the reform of the pension insurance system,it should not over-emphasize instrumental thinking.However,it should promote the urban-rural integration of pension insurance and improve the multi-level pension insurance system under the fair value orientation.Secondly,the parameters of the basic pension insurance system should be optimized and adjusted under the premise of balancing the goals of fairness and sustainability.Such as unifying the retirement age for men and women,appropriately increasing the number of months of individual account accrual,and adjusting the pension contribution base and contribution brackets.It is also necessary to effectively reduce the disparity in primary pension treatment to enhance the insured’s sense of fairness and access.Thirdly,based on achieving provincial coordination,the proportion of central adjustment funds should be increased yearly to achieve national coordination.At the same time,the coordination of pension system parameters should be improved nationwide.In addition,the central vertical management system of pension insurance can be established by referring to the basic medical insurance management system.Fourth,integrating the basic pension insurance system as the long-term goal of integrating rural-urban integration involves a wide range of people and complex interests.Hence,adopting the pilot idea first and exploring the practical path of system integration under certain principles is advisable.Such principles can be explained as no reduction in individual treatment,no increase in the overall burden on enterprises and controllable government financial expenditure.While promoting the integration of a basic pension insurance system,it is also necessary to complete the relevant legislation to complete the multi-level pension insurance system and legally protect the high-quality development of pension insurance.