Transcript 投影片 1 - Lingnan University

Optional Retirement:
a way forward for Hong Kong
Presented by Professor CHAN Cheung Ming, Alfred BBS JP
Chair Professor of Social Gerontology
Director, Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies
Lingnan University
18 August 2008
Content
• Background information
• Aim & method of the
study
• Results
• Recommendations
Impacts of an Ageing Society
Extended
Longevity
Reduced
Mortality
Declining
Fertility
Changes in
Population
& social Structure
Decreasing
Support
Ratio
Feminization
of Ageing
Population
Ageing
Population & social changes:
impacts on attitude & work
Global Developments
Challenging Traditional Work
Policies
Market Domination:
-health improvement leading to long life
- economic prosperity leading to low fertility
Demographic Transition:
- Delay work entry
- delay marriage
- delay old age
- feminization
Changing Attitudes:
-can’t work because of retiring?
-- retiring because can’t work?
- state, family or individuals?
-ve impacts: Public costs for retirement
a)Rising Pension costs
b)Loss in productivity
c)Loss in person’s dignity
+ve impacts: The “Demographic
Dividends” & the population window
• High ‘reserve labour’  increase labor supply
– Larger numbers of potential mature workers
– More women in the labor force
• Low fertility  high savings on child &
youth expenditure
– People prepare for old age by monetary saving, not
by relying on numbers of children pensions
– Pensions create monetary reserves for investment
 Demographic dividends in the next 10-15 years
when ageing rate is not so steep
Probable measures: optional/progressive
retirement
leaving work G..R..A..D..U..A..L..L..Y:
Age
45
50
55
60
65
70
75+
Off
wk
1/5
2/5
3/5
3/5
3/5
4/5
Vol
wk
& learning new things/volunteering in between
Older workers are ‘no good’?
Evidences against –ve stereotypes:
1. Older workers are usually willing and enthusiastic about
learning new skills.
2. Older workers can learn, although not in the same way as
younger workers. Training techniques may need to be
adapted to take account of this difference.
3. Older workers are often able to compensate for physical
declines.
4. Older workers are generally healthy.
5. And older workers have lower absenteeism and less turnover.
6. Older workers have been found to be more reliable,
conscientious, and loyal.
7. One can adjust some workers’ salaries if productivity
warrants. An operational example is Japan’s “reemployment”
policies.
8. Age is not the key factor. Differences in performance within
age groups are far greater than those between age groups.
Modified WHO Framework
for Active Ageing Policy for HK
Security
individuals– Safe for self + others
Physical
Financial
Environment
Government: for the needy:
Shelter + ensuring safe living
Individuals – Save for
old age when young
Government:: support
for the most needy, a safety net
ACTIVE
AGEING
Participation
Health Maintenance
Self driven, health-focused
Elder Learning
Govt facilitates
Self – healthy living
Individual
Retirement &
P-t employment
Volunteering
© Prof. Alfred Chan, APIAS, Lingnan University
Self – self + neighborhood care
Individuals :giving culture
Govt. recognized training &
facilitation
Gov’t – ensure healthy
Environment for an individual
Ensuring a
Basic
system
Gov’t – ensuring a sound
& accessible health service
The “Demographic Dividends”
rely on a labour policy
• According to David Bloom: “The
demographic dividend accounts for between
one … and two-fifths of East Asia’s
economic miracle.”
• But that dividend was not inevitable. It
required a suitable economic and political
environment – including government
policies related to older-person-power.
 a desirable policy: optional retirement
2015/7/21
"Population and Development
Review," Vol 26, supp.
10
Q: how is an
optional retirement
policy possible in HK?
Aim & Method:
1. To review other countries’ policies &
practices for optional/mature/progressive
retirement with a view to adopt and/or
modify the same for Hong Kong
2. Method: literature & documents review
Country Retirement Policy Summary (I)
Country
Scheme & Hrs
Reduction
Min. Age
Career
Requirement
End of the
Scheme
EUR
1) Austria: PT
work for older
workers.
FT can work up
to 28hrs/wk
& PT up to 70%
of previous hrs
2) Belgium,
Norway,
Netherlands,
Finland,
Denmark, etc:
Partial Pension,
Variable hrs
Reduction
Men: 55
Women:5
0
Public Sector
Unemployment
insurance/ Pension
contributions for at
least 15yrs in the
last 25yrs;
Private Sector
a) FT employment
for 12mths during
last 18mths;
b) 5yrs of
pensionable
employment during
the last 15yrs
It depends on
the scheme.
Some is early
retirement age
(Men: 61.5;
Women: 56.5)
some is 65, no
age limits now
being
considered
Worker: at least 50% of the
pay reduction.
Employer: Labour Market
Service pays 25% of gross
pay and covers social
contributions exceeding
actual working hrs/ Worker:
proportionate ‘partial
pension’/ career break
benefit/ Worker:
unemployment benefit &
supplementary
compensation
UK
Flexible
retirement/ PT
work: job share
Men: 65
Women:
60
(default
age of 65
is not
mandatory
retirement
age
Eligibility for a
pension/ a year
health check with
Occupational
health and welfare
Nil (No official
retirement age)
Partial pension and Flexible
location working/ seasonal
working
Nil
Employers
Forum on
Age
55+
Employees &
Retirees
Men: 65
Women:
60
Eligibility for a
pension/ ability to
maintain
employment and
skills
Not
mandatory/
depend on
ability
Employers &
Employees share
equally the
contribution rate
Self-employed bear
the entire contribution
Nil
Govn’t/
Business
firms/
Mandatory
Retirement
Elimination
Act Becomes
Law etc
Canada
Income & Incentive
(besides PT pay)
Compensatory
Recruitments
Key
Mechanism
Repealed in 2000.
No longer required/
None/ Obligation to
replace employee
with unemployed
worker (some
exceptions)/
Employer must hire
an unemployed
worker (some
exceptions)/
Obligation to recruit
replacement
Govn’t/ Equal
Opportunity
for
employment:
ability NOT
age to work
Country Retirement Policy Summary (II)
Country
Scheme & Hrs
Reduction
Min. Age
Career
Requirement
Japan
People aged 20-59
who legally live,
work and study in
Japan/ Flexible
working
opportunities
Below 70
Singapore
Wage Reduction by
up to 10%/ Flexiwork
35 over
Provides up to
$100,000 per
company for costs,
include redesign
recruitment, training,
absentee payroll &
equipment
67 or
above
Australia
PT work (e.g. 3 full
days/wk)
Job sharing (e.g. 1
person x 2 days/wk
& 1 person x 3
days/wk);
Working from home;
PT leave without
pay/ Career break
scheme/ Variable
year work/ Part year
employment/
Varying flexible hrs
arrangement
Nil
Ability to maintain
employment & skills
Nil
Hong Kong
No specific scheme
50 above
(not
compulsory
- optional)
Eligibility for a
pension
Nil
Eligibility for a
pension
End of
the
Scheme
70
Income & Incentive
(besides PT pay)
Compensatory
Recruitments
Key
Mechanism
Old Age Pension/
Additional old age
pension
Nil
Business
firms/ Govn’t
Employees bear larger
share of contribution than
employers;
Contribution rate is
inversely proportional to
employees’ age
Nil
Council of
Ageing/ The
Retirement
Age (RA) Act
Pension and Flexible
arrangement on job
Nil
Ministry on
Ageing/ Equal
Opportunities
in Public
Employment
Nil
Nil
Nil
Need for pro-active policies
• Work: Provide workers with opportunities to retrain,
share their experience and wisdom, adjust work
schedules, and facilitate transfer to new jobs as
production circumstances change.
• Retirement: Discourage early retirement policies that
are uneconomical in the long-run; create pension plans
that provide adequate income; encourage continued
involvement in society; and facilitate (where desired)
people shifting to less expensive regions to live.
• Community and Family: Encourage and help older
people to do voluntary work; recognizing that the family
needs support in its care-giving role.
Recommendations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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For general environment (Education & facilitation)
To provide formal and informal education to people at all ages about the
possible impacts of population ageing
To educate people of all age to save for old age and to stay active (in
employment or otherwise) for as long as possible
To educate people about benefits of optional retirement schemes
To facilitate an environment conducive for a silver hair market
Labour force participation (continuation to work: new attitude)
To encourage old age or ageless employment.
To facilitate and support employers to adopt fractional employment (e.g. job
share) and optional/progressive retirement, particularly in SMEs
To pilot optional retirement within the Government and non-governmental
sectors
To encourage healthy middle-aged people not to retire early and to prepare
well for old age/retirement.
To implement preventive measures to deal with women poverty.
Recommendations
Recommendations
• Business enterprises
• To encourage workers to prepare for retirement, gradually.
• To retain retired workers as mentors, paid or voluntary or
as reserves
• Fiscal measures
• To explore and implement measures to maintain stable
revenue in facing increasing expenditure vis-à-vis
population ageing.
• To research into reasons for late marriage and avoiding to
have children, as well as feasibility and consequences of
importing young labour for industries with labour shortage
Recommendations
• For Old age protection:
• Public Scheme
– To consider establishing mechanism to allocate CSSA/OAA to those in need
– To review qualifying age for OAA
– To postpone the retirement age gradually from 65 to 68 or 70 then no-age
limits
– To promote optional and fractional employment or retirement in old age.
• Mandatory occupational scheme
– To allow more flexibility in the operation of the MPF scheme through (1)
changing the lump-sum benefit to scheduled withdrawal; (2) widening the
contributory wage to make employees save effectively for their retirement
projection, and
– To discourage early retirement by putting penalties to early MPF draw
downs
– To encourage top ups to MPF by offering incentives schemes
Recommendations
• Older workers resources
– To set up a data bank and a resources centre for
matching people with work or voluntary work.
– To set up training centres for older workers who need to
be trained for specific types of work e.g. elder- or babysitters.
– To encourage retired professionals to work as mentors,
paid or voluntary
– To encourage retired workers to participate in voluntary
work through the Elder Academies in their districts.
• Around the world, older people want to
contribute, pay their way, and remain a
part of society. They want to leave a
legacy to future generations. To push
them aside or to ignore their wisdom,
talents, and experience is not only
cruel but makes no economic sense.