German-Japanese Comparative Research on the Paradigm Shift of the Pension Scheme in the Global Economy and its Influence

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Tracing the struggle of major pension reforms in united Germany after 1990, the paradigm shift of the pension scheme from benefit-led to contribution-led was clarified. And the background of this change, such as low birth rate and the rapid aging of the population, worsening economic and labor market situation, heavy burden of the enterprises through growing social insurance contributions under the global competition, was compared with the situation in Japan and examined empirically.Furthermore, under the new pension paradigm, as the contribution rate is limited to the ceiling which causes the lowering benefit level, complementary measures are inevitable. From this point of view, the following issues were pointed out and analyzed: (1) increasing the public subsidies to the pension budget, (2) promoting the corporate/private pension plans, (3) introducing the minimum benefit for the low income pensioners through tax revenue, (4)raising the pension age.