因应人口老龄化社会的退休制度:从双阶强制结构迈向双向选择结构

Retirement System in Response to Aging Society:From Two-Stage Structure to Two-Direction Structure

退休制度是由退休与养老金保障所组成的双层结构体系。历经一百三十多年的发展历程,退休制度从建立于年轻社会的退休养老金制度逐步转向因应人口老龄化社会的老龄养老金制度。退休养老金制度的理论框架是双阶强制理论,退休与养老金保障捆绑联动,退休方式是强制退休,养老金采用退休养老金。伴随着二十世纪后半期以来人口老龄化的发展趋势,因应老龄化社会的老龄养老金制度应运而生,其理论框架是双向选择理论,退休与养老金保障解绑分离,退休方式是自愿退休,养老金采用老龄养老金。我国退休制度正在从退休养老金制度迈向老龄养老金制度。劳动法应实行自愿退休制度,退休年龄属于劳动基准和劳动合同解除事由。老年人属于劳动法中的劳动者,劳动法应构建老年劳动者的特别法律规则。社会保险法应采用老龄养老金制度,退休不是养老金给付的法定要件。我国老龄养老金制度应实行弹性养老金,建立提前领取养老金期间的工资收入测试与养老金扣除规则。

The retirement system is a two-tier structure which is composed of retirement and pension security.Retirement is governed by the labor law,while pension security belongs to the social insurance law.Over a span of more than 130 years,the development of the retirement system in human society has undergone a significant transformation.The retirement system has gradually shifted from the retirement pension system established in the young society to the old-age pension system in response to the aging society.The two-tier structure of retirement system has been undergoing fundamental changes,shifting from two-stage to two-direction structure.Mandatory retirement has begun to change to voluntary retirement,and retirement pension has gradually shifted to old-age pension.The underlying logic behind the retirement pension system lies in that retirement comes from old age,while pension security results from retirement.The theoretical framework for the retirement pension system is established on the theory of two-stage behaviors.The theory of two-stage behaviors contains three elements such as ' retirement is bound with pension security',' retirement is mandatory',and ' pension security is provided on the basis of retirement'.With the developing trend of population aging since the second half of the 20th century,the old-age pension system has arisen.The underlying logic behind the old-age pension system is that retirement comes from old age,and pension security also results from old age.The theoretical framework of the old-age pension system is grounded on the theory of two-direction behaviors.According to the theory of two-direction behaviors,retirement is separated to and independent of pension security,retirement is voluntary,and pension security is provided on the basis of old age rather than retirement.The retirement system in China is currently moving from the retirement pension system to the old-age pension system,which marks a new development stage to separate retirement with pension security.Voluntary retirement should be implemented in the labor law.The statutory retirement age should hold dual attributes of labor standard to restrict employer's early termination before old age and termination cause to dismiss an employment contract.The statutory retirement age signifies the earliest age at which an employee can exit the workforce,rather than an age to be forced to leave the labor market as an obligation.The elderly are also within the ambit of employee,and special legal protection rules for the elderly workers should be constructed in the labor law.The social insurance law should be changed as well with evolving population aging.The old-age pension system should be taken into the social insurance law so that retirement is no longer a legal requirement for pension payment.The pension age needs to be separated from the retirement age.Pensions could be flexible in the old-age pension system,allowing workers to choose within a certain range before and after the normal pension payment age.The elderly can choose to receive a portion of pension benefit before the normal pension age,or to receive full pension benefit at the normal pension age,or to receive excess pension benefit after the normal pension age.Flexible pension systems need to be coordinated with the current employment policy to encourage older workers to stay in employment in a modest way.The pension deduction rules based on earning test could be established during the period of early pension receiving to be aligned with the specific development stage of population aging.