英闻天下——555 Incentive Scheme Needed to Boost Rural Age Pension

 　　A report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences indicates that more than 78 percent of rural old-age pension contributors believe the scheme has failed to keep up with demand.

 

　　Deng Qiandui is a rural doctor from Yunnan Province and a delegate to the National People's Congress. He has been working as a doctor for more than 29 years.

 

　　"I have joined the pension scheme and now pay 100 yuan a year. I've checked with the local social security department, and I can get 70 yuan per month after I turn 60. And those who are paying 500 yuan a year can only get more than 120 yuan."

 

　　Under the current system, rural residents can deposit 100 yuan to 500 yuan a year into their pension funds.

 

　　When they claim their pensions after they reach the age of 60, apart from their accumulated personal deposits, the central government will pay 55 yuan a month to each pensioner¹. The local governments will also add a sum depending on local fiscal² revenue.

 

　　In developed cities such as Beijing, a rural pensioner can get 600 yuan per month, while in other provinces the pensioner only receives 100 yuan or less.

 

　　Zheng Gongcheng is a deputy of NPC and consultant³ for the State Council on social security reform.

 

　　He says to level the pension standard, it is essential to set up an incentive⁴ scheme that encourages rural residents to build up pension savings⁵.

 

　　"We need to pinpoint⁶ the responsibility of the central government, local government and individual. For example, in Japan, the government is responsible for 50 percent of the pension contribution. If a farmer contributes 50 yuan to his pension fund, the local government together with the central government will add an extra 50 yuan to the individual's account. This will create an incentive to encourage younger rural residents to contribute, so they can get a higher pension after they turn 60. "

 

　　Currently, the government only provides a subsidy⁷ of 50 yuan for contributors who set aside 500 yuan for their pension fund.

 

　　Meanwhile, for those now collecting pensions, experts are calling for an adjustment system to increase their level of benefits.

 

　　Yang Lixiong is the Deputy Director of China's Social Security Research Center at Renmin University.

 

　　"How can we adjust the government subsidy? Based on commodity prices or average income or both? Without an adjustment system, it will be unimaginable how the pension scheme can work in the future. If a pensioner is still receiving 400 yuan per month after 40 years, it won't be of any help."

 

　　NPC deputy Zheng Gongcheng says the pension fund also needs to be properly managed and supervised to avoid deficits⁸ and depreciation⁹.

 

　　By 2012, China had 112 million rural residents over the age of 60, accounting¹⁰ for 17 percent of the rural population. The number is expected to exceed 20 percent by 2016.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.

1 pensioner   

n.领养老金的人

参考例句：

• The tax threshold for a single pensioner is$ 445.单身领退休年金者的纳税起点为445英镑。
• It was the pensioner's vote late in the day that influenced the election of Mr.Sweet.最后是领取养老金者的选票影响了斯威特先生的当选。

2 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

3 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

4 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

7 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

8 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

9 depreciation   

n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低

参考例句：

• She can't bear the depreciation of the enemy.她受不了敌人的蹂躏。
• They wrote off 500 for depreciation of machinery.他们注销了500镑作为机器折旧费。

10 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。