South Korea: South Korea's Aging Society Could Burst Housing Bubble (June 26, 2012)

In South Korea, the percentage of working-age population peaked this year at 73.1 percent and will start to decrease beginning next year. The population bonus that South Korea has been enjoying thus far will become an aging wave of baby boomers. The Hyundai Research Institute warns that this development could burst the housing bubble and trigger a financial crisis as has happened in other countries. It recommends that laws and regulations be changed to reflect the changing demographics.

China: Retirement Age Remains Unchanged for Now (June 25, 2012)

For decades, the retirement ages for men and women in China have been set at 60 years for men and 50 or 55 years for women. A recent proposal by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security to postpone retirement has sparked so much controversy that the Ministry announced that retirement ages will remain unchanged for now. China faces a pension shortfall and this debt could be alleviated if retirement is postponed. White collar workers support the proposal but blue collar workers do not. Blue collar workers usually have unstable and harsher work conditions. When they get retrenched, they still have to pay into their pension plans even though they have no income sources. Citizens are also against the dual-tracked system in which the government pays the share of personal contributions for civil servants but others have to pay out of their salaries.

India: Ramesh says old age pension of 200 an insult (May 20, 2012)
The monthly pension of 200 rupees given to the old is insulting to the dignity of a human being, says Indian rural development minister Jairam Ramesh. He is requesting the Prime Minister to review the pension scheme immediately. Key demands include increasing the amount of pension from 200 to 300 rupees and to schedule monthly payments on fixed dates.

China: Pension Situation Varies Place to Place; 60 Yuan Basic Social Security Pays for Only Five Bowls of Rice (April 8, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
The central government gives each older person above the age of 60 a basic monthly allowance of 60 Yuan. However, in places like Wenzhou, a bowl of rice already costs more than 10 Yuan. Older persons who wish to receive a pension could pay for the equivalent of fifteen years of pension contributions in a one-time payment--a huge burden most families cannot afford. Although China aims for full urban and rural pension coverage by 2012, younger people are not signing up, either due to a lack of understanding or not wanting to dilute already low take-home wages.

China: Dai Xianglong: At Most 40% of Pension Investment Will Be in Stocks (April 3, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
The National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF) has received RMB 100 billion from Guangdong’s provincial pension fund to be invested for the next two years. Chairman Dai of NCSSF has promised that the returns on investment will not be lower than the savings interest rate currently at 4.4 percent for a two-year period. The average annual rate of returns--taking into account inflation--for the NCSSF is 6 percent. This pilot investment plan will help stabilize the financial market and pave the way for China to increase pension fund values.

China: China Pushes Pension Discipline (March 27, 2012)
The Ministry of Finance has released a statement warning regional authorities against putting pension funds in any other form of investment other than bank deposits and government bonds. This comes after the central government approved a pilot project that allows the National Council for Social Security Fund to invest pension money for local authorities. The Guangdong provincial government has entrusted the national authority with 100 billion Yuan of local pension money.

China: Pension May Enter Investment Market By End of April (March 26, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
Guangdong will entrust the National Social Security Fund with its provincial social security fund, to be invested for a period of two years. Provincial funds have been losing money, since inflation is higher than bank interest rates. The National Social Security Fund has an average investment return of 19.22 percent. An expert says that at most 19.22 billion Yuan of the Guangdong provincial fund will be invested, which will have a small influence on the stock market. However, the news release would extend the current market upswing and have positive long-term effects, expanding the scale of institutional investors.

China: “Dual Track” Pension System Unfair; Experts Say Merger Key to Fairness (March 26, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
Since 2005, China has raised basic pension payouts for corporate retirees eight times. However, pensioners still struggle with living expenses. In China, civil servants and private sector employees get vastly different pension payouts. Human Resources and Social Security Vice-Minister Hu Xiaoyi recently said that demands for increasing pension payouts and narrowing the gap between pension levels are increasing now that China has achieved full coverage of urban and rural pension systems.

China: Experts Recommend Quickening the Establishment of Multiple Channels to Guarantee Social Security of Older Persons (March 15, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
Academics, government officials and private sector leaders met in Beijing to discuss challenges related to aging. Professor Yang Yansui of Tsinghua University says that a portion of GDP should be transferred to the elderly to guarantee their livelihoods and, more importantly, for social capitalism. When their incomes increase, they would spend more and invest more, encouraging innovation, and the economy would develop steadily. Older persons could also contribute by working. She labels these effects “elderly population bonuses.”

China: Aging Once Again Hot Topic at National People’s Congress and Chinese People Political Consultative Conference; Deputies Suggests Turning Consumer Spending into Pensions (March 13, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
While issues such as the investment of pension funds remain hotly debated, leaders and representatives agree that aging has to be socialized. The new ‘consumption as retirement’ business model was brought up for the first time at the NPC and PPC meetings. This model is already used in some cities. Consumers get dividends by consuming, thereby contributing to their retirement funds. Such a model has garnered affirmation from government agencies and experts in many areas who view it as a solution to China’s aging challenge.

China: Dai: Pension Funds Entering the Market Does Not Mean Using Them All to Buy Stocks (March 6, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
Dai Xianglong, Chairman of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), says that currently a portion of the national social security fund is already allocated to investments involving instruments other than stocks, and that in the future portions of provincial funds could be invested as well. He comments that such investment is practiced internationally. He adds that the entry of a long-term investment fund will help stabilize the current stock market and that depositing funds in banks is also risky to a certain extent.

Japan: Japan's Retirement Age Plan to be Axed (February 29, 2012)
The current retirement age for national government employees is 60 but the eligibility age for mutual pension payments will become 65 by 2025. Instead of pushing back the retirement age, the government plans to rehire employees from 60 to 65 at wages lower than preretirement.

Korea:  Commentary: Korean Experience of Investing Pensions in Stocks (February 28, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
The Korean pension fund just got approval to invest in the Chinese stock market. The writer thinks it is hypocritical that the Chinese pension fund is not in the stock market as well. He agrees that the Chinese pension fund should be invested but that the government has to take note of details and gradually increase the investment ratio. The Korean pension fund is the world’s fourth largest and is a stabilizer in the Korean stock market as one of the largest and longer-term investors. As the investment ratio is low, at 14.4 percent of the total fund, it only lost 0.18 percent during the 2008 financial crisis despite the invested funds losing 42.9 percent. 

Japan: Japanese Investment Firm Lost Billions of Dollars from the Pension Fund (February 24, 2012)
(Article in Russian)
The Japanese financial regulator froze all operations of the AIJ investment firm for a month, suspecting that the firm lost close to $2.3 billion from the pension fund that is partially managed by AIJ at the moment. 

Asia: Aging of Asia, a Danger for Pension Systems (February 7, 2012)
(Article in French)
Analysts of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are concerned about the consequences the current decline of births and increase of life expectancy will have on many Asian economies. Their observations show that pension systems in this region either cover only a tiny minority of the population, or are so expensive that they are not viable over the long run. Comparing the situation in countries like China to that of countries experiencing serious difficulties today such as Italy, they called for a fast modernization of the pension systems to ensure their sustainability in coming decades.

China: Looking at US 401K to Evaluate China’s Plan to Invest Pension Funds in Stock Market (February 6, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
Currently, officials are looking into viable implementation models for investing China’s pension fund. This financial analyst comments that the success of the 401K is due to the maturity of the US financial market and a relatively stable stock market. Conversely, investors have lost lots of money in the volatile Chinese market in the last year. He urges authorities to tread carefully.

China: Civil Service Pension Reform Slow (February 6, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
Civil servants enjoy higher pension payouts without paying into the system as well as free healthcare, causing citizens to doubt the social security and medical insurance schemes that the government is actively promoting. They are also unhappy over inequality.

China: Tibetan Monks and Nuns Welcome Government Medical Insurance and Pension Coverage (January 27, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
Monks and nuns in Tibet no longer have to struggle with old age, previously a great worry. Those above 60 years now will be able to get pension payouts without paying any premiums. Those above the age of 18 years but below 60 have the option of participating in the pension and medical insurance schemes. The government will match premiums dollar-to-dollar.

China: Pension Payouts to Increase by 10%; Government to Look into Retirement Age (January 25, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
To deal with a population that is aging at an increasing rate, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will consult the public and conduct timely research into retirement-related policies. The Ministry will also work with relevant departments to look into policies related to a comprehensive medical insurance system.

China: Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security: No Plans to Invest Pension Funds in Stocks (January 21, 2012)
(Article in Chinese)
The ministry denies a news report that the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is investing a provincial pension fund in stocks. Though various departments agree that pension funds will be invested in financial instruments, the government has not approved any specific plan. The ministry also announced a 10% increase in pension payouts. More localities are rolling out a new form of pension scheme targeted at rural residents.

China Eyes Pension Fund Boost for Stock Market (January 19, 2012)
China, with its aging population, urgently needs to find a way to increase returns on pension funds. Sources reveal that if the State Council approves a proposal to allow local pension funds to be used for investment, up to USD 57 million could be injected into the stock market, which is trading at 62% below its peak in 2007. An unnamed source revealed that it is likely that the national government will set up a new vehicle to manage stock market investments.