Zheng Gongcheng: Improving farmers' pension benefits should prioritize addressing the shortcomings of elderly farmers

President of the China Social Security Society, Vice Chairman of the Academic Committee of Renmin University of China Zheng Gongcheng delivered a speech at the meeting. Photo provided by the interviewee.

Beijing News (Reporter Xiao Longping) On April 2nd, at the “Farmer Pension Special Symposium” hosted by the China Social Security Society, Zheng Gongcheng, President of the China Social Security Society and Vice Chairman of the Academic Committee of Renmin University of China, stated that in China’s pension system reform, the rural population, especially the elderly farmers, are the most in need and the most deserving of priority. Prioritizing the increase of their basic pension benefits is a rational choice based on political, social, economic, and cultural comprehensive effects.

Zheng Gongcheng believes that to solve the problem of low farmer pensions, the premise is to fully recognize the achievements of the urban and rural residents’ pension insurance system. Since the pilot launch of the farmer pension insurance in 2009, this system has developed from nothing to something, from local pilots to nationwide coverage, and the benefit adjustment mechanism has been continuously improved, releasing positive signals.

However, at the same time, Zheng Gongcheng also emphasized that the overall level of urban and rural residents’ pensions remains relatively low, averaging only over 240 yuan per month per person. Excluding urban residents with relatively high pension levels and recipients with migrant worker status, the “true farmers”’ pension level is still below 200 yuan. Elderly farmers over 70, who did not make personal contributions back then, often can only receive the minimum basic pension. In other words, high-age farmers are not only the group with the lowest benefits among farmers but also the group most in need of attention within the public pension system. Moreover, in the multi-layered pension insurance system, enterprise annuities, occupational annuities, and individual pensions are arrangements that enhance urban retirees’ benefits and are not options for farmers. This means that especially the older generation of farmers can only rely on the basic pension insurance system to address their basic living needs in old age.

In Zheng Gongcheng’s view, quickly increasing the basic pension benefits for the older generation of farmers, especially the elderly, has at least four significances: First, alleviating the practical living difficulties of elderly farmers and improving their basic livelihood security; Second, recognizing the special historical contributions of the older generation of farmers to the development of New China and the accumulation of national wealth, and providing appropriate compensation by increasing their basic pensions; Third, maintaining the intergenerational transfer function of the public pension system, and encouraging migrant workers to participate in employee pension insurance through fairer institutional arrangements; Fourth, sending a positive signal to society to promote fairness, enhancing public confidence in the system, and thereby boosting consumption and supporting rural development.

Regarding how to address the low pension levels for farmers, Zheng Gongcheng proposed that a rational, gradual, and categorized approach should be adhered to. For the older generation of farmers, since they can no longer increase their pensions through personal contributions and government subsidies, the only way is to raise the level of the government-managed basic pension, and further prioritize solutions by increasing the basic pension for different age groups. For current and future farmers, more efforts should be made to incentivize participation and contributions to strengthen the social insurance attributes of the system, balancing welfare protection with responsibility sharing.

On the key issue of “where does the money come from,” Zheng Gongcheng believes that multiple channels should be used to raise funds, prioritizing the macro policy of “investing in people” to improve the basic pensions for farmers, especially the elderly. Specific measures could include increasing targeted fiscal input for elderly farmers’ basic pensions, optimizing the subsidy structure of national finance for the three major groups’ pension insurance, and exploring ways such as allocating part of state-owned asset returns or issuing special government bonds to support solutions for the low pension levels of the older generation of farmers and incentivize future farmers to participate and contribute.

Zheng Gongcheng suggested that the country should act quickly to turn the overall deployment of promoting common prosperity, investing in people, and improving social security into practical policies for increasing pensions for the elderly farmers. If fiscal funding faces temporary pressure, efforts could start with those aged 80 and above, gradually extending to the 70s, with larger increases for older age groups. For farmers close to receiving benefits, exploring options such as allowing partial back payments of pension contributions as a transitional arrangement is also feasible. Regardless of the plan adopted, early policy signals should be released.

It is understood that more than ten experts and scholars from institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Zhejiang University, Northwest University, Kunming University of Science and Technology, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology participated in the meeting. Officials from the Rural Social Insurance Department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Department of Aging Work of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and relevant departments of the National Development and Reform Commission’s Employment, Income Distribution, and Consumption Department, as well as the Rural Social Affairs Promotion Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, attended and engaged in discussions.

Editor: Zheng Weibin

Proofreader: Liu Jun