Government should shore up 'basic' portion of pensions in earnest
(From The Japan Times January 31 issue)

社会保障改革では基礎年金強化が急務

The government is trying to reform the social welfare system as Japan's financial condition deteriorates. Before discussing overall changes, it must strengthen the "basic" portion of pensions.

Self-employed people, part-time workers, unemployed people, etc., participate in the kokumin nenkin pension system and only receive the basic portion. Company employees receive the basic portion plus benefits from the kosei nenkin pension system in which they participate.

Under the pension reform of 2004, the monthly premium for the kokumin nenkin system was to rise by ¥280 each year through fiscal 2017 when the amount will reach ¥16,900. But because the consumer price index fell 1.4 percent in 2009 from 2008, the monthly premium will go down by ¥80 from ¥15,100 in fiscal 2010 to ¥15,020 in fiscal 2011.

One might think that this will help decrease arrears in the payment of premiums, thus increasing the reliability of the pension system. But the price fall will also lead the monthly benefit in the kokumin nenkin system to drop by ¥200 from the current ¥66,008 for a person who continued to pay the premium for a full 40 years.

One might assume that if consumer prices rise, the pension benefit will increase accordingly. That's not the case. A trick of the 2004 pension reform is that even if consumer prices rise, the pension benefit won't rise by the same percentage. So, there is a strong possibility that the basic portion of pensions won't provide the minimum social security net for retired people.

There is more bad news. The actual payment rate for kokumin nenkin premiums during the half-year from April 2010 fell to a record low 55.98 percent — down 1.57 percentage points from the same period a year before.

The government should tackle in earnest such issues as increasing the government's burden in the payment of the basic portion benefit from the current 50 percent, letting irregular workers join the kosei nenkin system. The most important thing is to establish a measure that minimizes the possibility of people going without a pension.

政府は社会保障制度改革を進めようとしているが、改革全体の議論する前に、年金の「基礎」部分を強化すべきだ。自営業者、パート従業員、失業者などは国民年金制度に加入し基礎年金を受給する。2004年の改革後、国民年金の月額保険料は16,900円に達する2017年まで毎年280円加算される。しかし2009年の物価が前年比マイナス1.4％となったため、月額保険料は2010年度の15,100円から2011年度には80円下がる。物価が下がったことで国民年金の支給額は40年間保険料を支払った人で、今の月6万6008円から200円減る。しかし物価が上がっても受給額は同じ比率で連動せず、基礎年金は退職者のセーフティネットに満たない可能性が高い。

基礎年金の国庫負担を現在の50％から増やし、非正規社員の厚生年金加入を可能にするなどの対処が望まれる。無年金者を最小限にすることが重要だ。