The difference between social insurance in Chile and Singapore

First, Singapore's old-age insurance system

The central provident fund system is the core pillar of Singapore's old-age insurance system, which adopts a unique "savings fund system", that is, quasi-insurance, to form Singapore's old-age insurance model.

1. Historical evolution of endowment insurance system. At first, this system was only a compulsory long-term savings pension plan, excluding temporary workers and independent workers. Its purpose is to ensure the basic life of provident fund members after retirement or disability.

With the development of social economy, the disadvantages of this pure account accumulation method are increasingly exposed. On the basis of the original savings account system, Singapore has implemented a series of provident fund plans, which has increased the investment opportunities of the fund and made it develop into a relatively perfect old-age security system.

2. The basic content of the old-age insurance system. Singapore's central provident fund system includes four aspects: old-age security plan, medical care plan, house purchase industry plan and investment education plan, among which the old-age security plan is the most important part. It consists of a series of sub-plans focusing on ensuring the life of members and their families. Among them, the (1) minimum deposit plan is the basic guarantee, which is a supplement to the savings plan established in the early stage of the provident fund system, aiming at strengthening the protection of members' pension deposits in order to cope with. (2) Supplementary Provident Fund Scheme. It is limited to Singapore citizens and permanent residents, and its purpose is to help members with insufficient pensions make up their savings in retirement accounts. (3) The family security plan is an old-age security measure for members and their families to keep their houses or provide compensation when their members are permanently disabled or die. Housing industry plan also includes the content of old-age security, which includes public housing plan and residential industry plan. The goal of this plan is to enable members of the provident fund to use the provident fund deposits to buy houses or the private property of the Housing Development Bureau as their residences, to ensure that members can have a "sense of security", and to supplement their pensions with real estate mortgages and the sale of properties. In addition, the Singapore government also operates a public supplementary pension scheme, which provides a small amount of pension for the poor elderly, with an amount of about 12% of the average social income.

3. Operation and management of the old-age insurance system. The contribution rate of employees and employers in Singapore to the provident fund depends on the age of employees. For employees under the age of 55, the contribution ratio of the provident fund is 40% of the employee's salary, of which 18% is borne by the employee and the remaining 22% is paid by the employer. For employees aged 55 to 59, the contribution rate is 25%, 60 to 64%, and 10% for those over 65. As long as employees are over 55 years old, the contribution rate of provident fund is shared equally by employers and employees. Moreover, with the development and change of social economy, the collection rate of provident fund has also been adjusted accordingly. Each member of the provident fund has three accounts in the Central Provident Fund Bureau, of which the special account is dedicated to accessing pensions and emergency financial expenditures, accounting for about 403.5% of the wages of employees. The deposit in this account can only be withdrawn in one lump sum when the employee reaches the age of 55 and retires or permanently loses the ability to work. The amount of pension is the sum of all insurance premiums and interest paid by employees and employers, so the amount of old-age security is directly related to the income level of individuals. Since 1987, the Singapore government has started to require employees to keep a minimum deposit in their accounts when they are 55 years old. 199 1 stipulates that the minimum deposit is 3270. S $,which is used to purchase the minimum living pension for employees. The sole authority of Singapore's old-age security system is the Central Provident Fund, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Labor and has a board of directors. Its main task is to keep members' pension funds and archives, and to pay pensions and deposits accumulated by investment according to government instructions. The management of the foundation is highly computerized, and an effective law enforcement system has been formulated, which can trace the relevant fund funds in time. The government also exempts members' pension deposits from taxes and ensures the payment of deposits.

Singapore's old-age insurance system has effectively controlled and guided residents' consumption, increased private savings and made great contributions to economic growth. Pension savings account for a large proportion in provident fund deposits, while provident fund savings rose from 1.5% of GNP in the 1960s to 5% in the 1970s, and reached its peak at 1.982, accounting for n% of GNP. The growth of private savings has led to the increase of national savings, giving full play to the potential of funds, making Singapore the most frugal country in the world. Moreover, most of the pension deposits are used to invest in government bonds and public utilities, which not only helps Singapore develop its national economy, but also forms a virtuous circle of funds. In addition, the personal account established under the old-age security plan eliminates the burden on the government and saves a lot of financial expenditure. The investment in pension deposits has enabled the government to grasp a large amount of funds, which is not only conducive to the national fiscal surplus and macro-control, but also enables Singapore to avoid high inflation while developing at a high speed. In terms of old-age security, this system is also conducive to avoiding the problem of aging. Due to the compulsory saving nature of the plan, the long-term consumption pension solves the income equality problem of the elderly in their future lives, and the saving form of special accounts for special personnel makes young people not have to worry about bearing the burden of the elderly, so they don't have to worry too much about the arrival of an aging society, which is conducive to the formation of a stable society.

Second, Chile's private pension insurance system

As early as 1924, Chile established the first traditional old-age insurance system in Latin America. Its biggest feature is that the government manages the social security fund by collecting social insurance tax and establishes special accounts. Since the 1970s, Chile's obvious population aging trend and persistent high inflation rate have made it difficult to maintain the old system. In this context, Chile carried out a major reform of 1980: a brand-new operating model based on individual retirement accounts and characterized by private management was established in the field of endowment insurance, and a single-source and privately managed endowment insurance system was created.

The new old-age insurance system has changed the nature of the old-age insurance system for public and private sectors, blue-collar workers and white-collar workers. First of all, in the reform of 1980, the employer's contribution was abolished by legislation, and the original general fund was converted into a personal fund. A single source of funds and the establishment of individual retirement accounts make Chile's old-age insurance a compulsory personal insurance system. Secondly, the provisions of Chile's social security law have completely reformed the management system of the old-age insurance system. Based on the principle that the state should only play an auxiliary role, and considering the needs of developing local capital markets and improving social security funds, the new legislation holds that the management of social security should be carried out by the private sector, that is, the pension fund management company is responsible for managing 65,438+03 private pension funds. The company must regularly inform the fund members of its operations and accounts. In order to ensure solvency, pension funds are also separated from operating companies according to law.

Judging from the responsibilities and rights of all parties, under the new system, after making up the deficit under the old system, the government will only bear the subsidy responsibility below the minimum old-age security line of the new system. The enterprise payment is phased out from 198 1 to 1986, and the individual becomes the sole payer. The contribution rate dropped from 19.94% of the previous salary to 10%, and the pension was accumulated by individual savings accounts and transferred to individual accounts under the old system.

Practice has proved that Chile's new endowment insurance system has made important contributions to Chile's social and economic development. First, because there is 13 private equity fund, the management and operation of the fund is relatively successful. Although the investment return rate of the fund was expected to be 5% at the beginning of the system design, according to the estimation of Morgan Group, the actual 4 1 return rate of the system fund was 15% every year from 198 1 year to1year. Second, corresponding to the huge savings and the increase of savings rate, Chile's new pension insurance system has created a good local capital market. Huge funds have met the needs of domestic capital to a considerable extent, and most of them have been used to invest in the private sector, which has stimulated economic growth. Third, Chile's domestic capital market is more attractive to foreign investment. Sustained high savings and stable domestic financial market make Chile the only country in Latin America that not only appreciates its currency, but also has the fastest economic growth. The strong domestic capital market has also attracted American and other European investors. In addition, this system reduces the burden on enterprises and improves their competitiveness. Coupled with other open policies, Chile's economy is moving from closed to open, and exports have increased from 20% of GDP in the early 1970s to 35% in the early 1990s.

Third, the comparison of the two countries' pension insurance systems.

Singapore's provident fund old-age security plan and Chile's 1980 reform have made remarkable achievements, but these two old-age insurance models adapt to different countries and national conditions, so apart from some basic practices, they also have different innovations and breakthroughs. The similarities are as follows:

First of all, the pension insurance systems in both countries are compulsory individual retirement savings plans, based on individual capital accounts. On this basis, the amount of pension depends on the amount of pension fund paid by employees during their employment and the investment income of the fund.

Secondly, the pension insurance models of the two countries basically have no redistribution function. Due to personal accounts, the pension insurance systems in Chile and Singapore exclude the horizontal capital flow between the insured and the intergenerational transfer of pensions, and each guaranteed citizen only enjoys the pension accumulated in his own account; On the other hand, the government has little or no burden and only plays the role of organizer or night watchman. This transfer payment method also hinders the vertical redistribution of pension funds.

Third, the old-age insurance systems of the two countries have promoted the rapid economic development on the basis of improving the level of old-age security. This experience is especially worth learning from in China. Singapore's provident fund deposits have greatly increased the private savings rate. Adequate sources of funds are not only conducive to social stability, but also enable Singapore to develop its economy. The goal of Chile 1980 reform is not limited to providing income security for the elderly. At the beginning of its design, it not only considered the pension problem, but also fully considered the influence of the pension system on regional economic development and financial market.

The differences between the two countries' pension insurance systems are as follows: First, the organizers and investment purposes of the two countries' pension insurance funds are different. Singapore's provident fund pension plan is based on the principle of national savings fund, and the investment of the fund is also used to buy government bonds and support infrastructure according to the government's instructions, aiming at helping the country regulate the economy from a macro perspective; Chile's pension insurance system is completely run by some authorized private pension companies, namely pension fund management companies. The whole system is undergoing privatization reform, and the companies operating pension funds emphasize diversified investment and profit, thus promoting the prosperity of regional economy.

Second, the transparency and openness of pension fund operation are different. Apart from Singapore's public supplementary pension scheme, only the central savings fund supports the national pension insurance system, and all employees except the self-employed must participate. The fund operation lacks transparency and openness, and there is no competitive pressure. In Chile, there are 13 private equity funds participating. The management and operation efficiency of funds is very high, and the law also strictly restricts "one person, one account" and "one company, one fund" to ensure the simplicity and transparency of funds.

Third, linked with the investment direction and fund operation, the pension returns of the two countries are different. The contribution rate of Singapore provident fund is as high as 40% of employees' wages, while the interest rate of fund deposits is only about 2% from 1955. In the 1980s, the government began to allow part of the provident fund to invest in foreign capital markets. According to the World Bank's estimation, the return on investment in the whole 1980s was about 3%. Chile's new system requires all employees to contribute 65,438+00% of their income as pension funds. During the period from 65,438+0980 to 65,438+0990, the actual return on assets reached 65,438+03% on average. In addition, the management efficiency and operating cost of pension funds in the two countries are also different. One of the advantages of Singapore's provident fund pension scheme is its high management efficiency and low operating cost. The total operating cost 1990 (including currency depreciation reserve) only accounts for the annual fund contribution. ,53%; Chile gives foundation members the personal option to transfer accounts between pension fund management companies, which correspondingly increases advertising and sales costs. After deducting the minimum amount of pension and disability insurance, the operating costs paid by the members of the foundation reach an average of 65,438+05.4% of the annual pension fund. Judging from the rate of return and cost of pension funds in the two countries, the Singapore model has low operating cost and low income, while the Chilean model has high income and high cost, but in general, Chile's private pension insurance system is more dynamic and effective.

The success of the old-age insurance system in Singapore and Chile has set an example for many countries in the world that need to reduce the pressure of social security system and stimulate local economic development, and it also has some enlightenment for China. First of all, when designing the old-age insurance system, we should pay special attention to the study of its functions, not only to the providers, but also to the capital formation and economic growth. Economic development is the guarantee of providing for the aged. The newly established pension insurance system should not only emphasize its pension function, but also take pension security and economic development as an inseparable whole to adjust its economic function. At the same time, the new pension fund has also stimulated the rise of the national savings rate, promoted consumption growth and promoted economic prosperity. The experience of the two countries shows that it is possible to coordinate the development of old-age care with society and economy. If China sets diversified goals in the reform of the old-age insurance system and uses the new old-age insurance system to promote capital formation and economic growth, it will undoubtedly achieve the same success.

Secondly, it should be noted that in view of China's national conditions and the existing traditional endowment insurance system, it is impossible for us to copy the privatization in Chile and the savings-based quasi-insurance system in Singapore. Complete privatization is hard to be accepted by people, and single accumulation is not suitable for China's huge population and the trend of accelerated aging. The principles of self-protection and self-reliance must be established. However, the social endowment insurance fund is huge, and the government cannot and should not give up its rights and obligations for this. It is necessary for the state to assume part of the responsibility of social endowment insurance, rather than just playing the role of "organizer".

In addition, it is difficult to solve the problem of providing for the aged only by the social insurance system. It is necessary to encourage enterprises and private pension plans and effectively combine social pension, enterprise pension and family pension systems. The models of Singapore and Chile show that the private pension system is more efficient than the social pension insurance system; On the other hand, it is difficult to give consideration to fairness and efficiency only by private pension or social pension, and it is also difficult to solve the problem of pension satisfactorily. Therefore, China's old-age insurance system can only be a multi-level and multi-pillar system combining social basic insurance, enterprise supplement and employee personal commercial insurance. In the social endowment insurance system, fairness gives priority to efficiency, while in other endowment insurance systems, such as enterprise supplementary pension plan and commercial endowment insurance system, efficiency is emphasized. In this way, the pension insurance system as a whole can fully reflect both fairness and efficiency, avoid repeating the mistakes of "high welfare and high deficit" in western countries, and become a brand-new China model.