17 consecutive gains, retirees share development results
Our reporter Ao Rong
According to incomplete statistics, as of June 15, 17 provinces including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, and Liaoning have successively issued notices of pension increases.
It is reported that other provinces are also expected to release relevant information in the near future.
This round of pension increase is in response to the "Notice on Adjusting the Basic Pension for Retired Persons in 2021" issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance in April this year.
The notice clearly stated that the national overall adjustment ratio will be determined at 4.5% of the monthly basic pension per capita for retirees in 2020.
my country ushered in 17 consecutive years of rising pensions.
Why will the pension increase?
How much pension do retirees get?
Will it continue to rise in the future?
In response to the above issues, the Economic Daily reporter interviewed relevant experts and scholars.
Prices are the main reason for the upward adjustment
"The main reason for the increase in pensions is that prices are rising." said Chu Fulin, a professor at the Department of Labor and Social Security of the School of Insurance, Central University of Finance and Economics.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the CPI rose by 1.3% year-on-year in May this year, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the previous month.
"Although consumer prices are generally stable and the price level has not risen very much, the CPI is rising after all. In order not to affect the purchasing power of retirees, pensions must be adjusted." Chu Fulin said.
At the same time, another important reason for the increase in pensions is to allow all people to share the fruits of economic development within an appropriate range.
The new crown pneumonia epidemic has affected all aspects of economic and social development, including the income level of retirees.
Therefore, in addition to guaranteeing the basic life of retirees, their living standards should also be improved accordingly.
The third reason for achieving 17 consecutive rises is that pension funds can afford it.
The upward adjustment of pensions requires continuous and uninterrupted expenditure. Where does the money come from?
According to statistics from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, since the pension fund was formally invested and operated at the end of 2016, the accumulated investment income has reached nearly 200 billion yuan, and the average annual return rate has exceeded 6.8%.
In 2020, the basic pension insurance funds entrusted to invest in 25 provinces in my country will exceed 1.11 trillion yuan, and investment returns in many provinces will exceed 10%.
Therefore, from a national perspective, the pension fund balance has considerable strength to pay.
"Some areas, especially areas with an aging population, are still under great pressure. This requires the relevant departments to take certain measures to ensure that the adjusted pension can be paid on time and in full." Chu Fulin said.
How to pay the pension
According to reports, this year's basic pension adjustment mainly adopts a combination of fixed amount adjustment, linkage adjustment and appropriate tilt, and achieves unified adjustment methods for retirees of enterprises, government agencies and institutions.
Among them, the quota adjustment reflects the principle of fairness; the linkage adjustment reflects the incentive mechanism of "paying more, earning more money" and "paying more money for long-term pay"; for elderly retirees and retirees in remote areas, the adjustment level can be appropriately increased.
The latest data shows that as of March 2021, the number of people participating in basic pension insurance nationwide is 1.007 billion.
The 60.98 million registered poor people have participated in the basic endowment insurance, and the participation rate has stabilized at over 99.99%, basically realizing the insurance coverage.
Specific to individuals, the amount of pensions that retirees in different regions can receive is different, which is related to the superposition of factors such as the length of insurance participation, the amount of payment, and the subsidy for land-losing farmers.
Take Xingguo County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province as an example. Starting from January 1, 2021, the local level will increase the minimum basic pension insurance basic pension for urban and rural residents by 5 yuan. 135 yuan a month.
At the same time, the insured benefits for those between 65 and 79 years old will be increased by no less than 3 yuan, and the insured benefits for those over 80 will be increased by not less than 6 yuan.
According to the new standard, Aunt Li Yulian, 63, of Guantian Village, Xinglian Township, received a monthly pension of 236.68 yuan since January 2019. In June of that year, he received a subsidy of 66,348 yuan for land-lost farmers, and the pension was also increased to 714 yuan a month; From January to June of 2021, you can receive a pension of 744 yuan per month. Aunt Li's pension income is relatively high in the local area.
The issue of elderly care in different regions is closely related to the level of local economic development and residents' income.
"Economic development and people's livelihood security go hand in hand, forming a pattern where the two complement and promote each other, which is conducive to the smooth progress of our entire elderly care service business." Chu Fulin said.
Retirees in the affluent areas of the east receive relatively high pensions because local finances can afford a large part of the expenditure.
For example, Shanghai stipulates that starting from January 1 this year, the pension insurance for urban and rural residents will increase the basic pension by 100 yuan per person per month.
Relatively speaking, for basic pensions in underdeveloped areas in the central and western regions, local finances are relatively struggling to pay, and the central government will tilt more toward these areas and assume more adjustments.
This can explain well why there are differences in pensions in different regions.
Will it continue to rise?
In the future, whether urban and rural residents’ pensions can continue to increase depends on whether they can increase income through open source. The key is to rely on the income generated by social security funds, including pension funds.
The social security fund is a joint investment and risk borne by everyone, and it should be promoted to maintain and increase its value under the premise of ensuring safety.
Zhang Jinan, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, recently stated that in order to cope with the aging of the population and increase the strategic reserve of the national social security fund, the current fund equity is about 2.4 trillion yuan. The total amount of state-owned capital of enterprises and central financial institutions is 1.68 trillion yuan.
The reporter learned that in the next step, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will continue to promote the continuous expansion of the pension fund entrusted investment scale with the focus on the basic pension insurance for urban and rural residents under the premise of ensuring that the basic pension insurance fund is paid in full and on time.
At the same time, further improve investment policies, improve investment capabilities, prevent investment risks, and strive to achieve a steady appreciation of pension funds, so as to provide support for the high-quality development of my country's social security system.
Ao Rong