China sees huge gap in future pension payments

 

 

BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China's social security fund manager on Friday warned of a "huge capital gap" amid future waves of pension payments to retirees as the country enters a period of rapid aging.

 

"The current size of the social security fund fails to match China's gross economic scale and is far from the level that can fill the gap in the pension fund balance," Dai Xianglong, chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF), said at a forum¹ held here Friday.

 

Dai did not reveal the exact capital deficit² figure, but his warning came as the country's regulators are considering allowing the fund to invest in the equity³ market for higher yields.

 

By the end of last year, some 123 million Chinese, or about 9.1 percent of the nation's population, were aged⁴ over 65, and the ratio of working-aged Chinese to the country's seniors will drop from 10:1 in 2000 to 2.8:1 in 2050, according to data released by the Health Aging Symposium⁵ last month.

 

Founded in 2000, the social security fund managed by the NCSSF is designed to serve as a solution for the country's aging problem as well as a strategic reserve to support future social security expenditures⁶.

 

The assets of the social security fund reached 868.84 billion yuan (137.91 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of last year, compared with the country's 10.8-trillion-yuan gross domestic product.

 

"Facing an accelerating aging process in China, the pension fund is under increasing pressure to make ends meet," Dai said, "and this trend is going to last for a long time."

 

Dai suggested appropriating more state-owned assets into the social security fund and using the fund in more investment sectors⁷ to protect its value from inflation.

 

In 2011, the fund's investment income stood at 43.1 billion yuan, with a yield rate of 5.58 percent.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

3 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

4 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

6 expenditures   

n.花费( expenditure的名词复数 )；使用；（尤指金钱的）支出额；（精力、时间、材料等的）耗费

参考例句：

• We have overspent.We'll have to let up our expenditures next month. 我们已经超支了，下个月一定得节约开支。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pension includes an allowance of fifty pounds for traffic expenditures. 年金中包括50镑交通费补贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》