Leaving money on the table? Suboptimal enrollment in the new social pension program in China
Leaving money on the table? Suboptimal enrollment in the new social pension program in China
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jeoa.2019.100233
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发表时间：
2020-02-01
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
Sindelar, Jody L.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Chen, Xi;Hu, Lipeng;Sindelar, Jody L.
中国最近实施的新农保计划（NRPS）是世界上最大的社会养老金计划，旨在为农村人口提供经济保护并减少经济不平等。然而，如果符合资格的人未能注册，该计划的影响就会减轻。本文探讨了符合养老金资格的个人及其家庭在多大程度上做出最佳养老金决策。家庭参与 NRPS 决策，因为在大多数情况下，成年子女需要参加，作为其父母获得福利的先决条件。我们审查有资格领取养老金福利的人（即 60 岁以上）及其成年子女的决定。我们使用 2012 年中国家庭追踪研究的农村样本来研究决定参加 NRPS、支付的保费和参加时间的决定因素。我们发现符合条件的个人及其家庭的养老金注册率较低且次优的证据。次优的入学率有多种形式，包括未能从占主导地位的默认养老金计划转向 NRPS，以及有证据表明家庭没有做出互惠互利的家庭内部决定。对于年龄较大的群体来说，个人和家庭特征对入学决策影响不大，但村庄特征起着重要作用。对于年轻群体来说，个人层面的特征更为重要，包括自己和孩子的教育。村庄特征很重要，但不像老年人那么重要。我们对次优入学率的发现很重要，因为它凸显了改善入学率政策的必要性。本文提供了与次优入学相关的因素范围所需的信息。
China's recently implemented New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS), the largest social pension program in the world, was designed to provide financial protection for its rural population and reduce economic inequities. Yet the impact of this program is mitigated if those eligible fail to enroll. This paper examines the extent to which pension-eligible individuals, and their families, make optimal pension decisions. Families are involved in the NRPS decisions because, in most cases, adult children need to enroll as a prerequisite of their parents' receipt of benefits. We examine the decisions of both those eligible for pension benefits (i.e. over 60 years old) and their adult children. We use the rural sample of the 2012 China Family Panel Study to study determinants of the decision to enroll in NRPS, premiums paid, and time taken to enroll. We find evidence of low and suboptimal pension enrollment by eligible individuals and their families. Suboptimal enrollment takes various forms including failure to switch from the dominated default pension program to NRPS and evidence that families do not make mutually beneficial intra-family decisions. For the older cohort, few individual and family characteristics are significant in enrollment decisions, but village characteristics play an important role. For the younger cohort, more individual-level characteristics are significant, including own and children's education. Village characteristics are important but not as much as for the older cohort. Our finding of suboptimal enrollment is important as it highlights the need for policies to improve enrollment. This paper provides needed information on the extent of the factors relating to suboptimal enrollment.