英国养老金体系中效率与公平--留学生Essay代写范文

留学生留学生Essay代写范文:“英国养老金体系中效率与公平”，这篇论文主要描述的是养老金是一个种社会保障体系，保障着社会工作者们退休后的基本生活需求，不同的国家对于养老金体系的设置也各不相同，养老金最终的目的就是为了保障工作者们老有所依，本文以英国的养老金体系为例，分析养老金与社会人口老龄化之前的变化，以及养老金的设置是否合理和公平。

In the UK, pensions account for over 6% of gross domestic product. In many countries pension provision is under strain as a result of population ageing, with a growing number of pensioners relative to the working population. Using OECD data, this essay will provide an overview of the composition of government expenditures within the UK. It shall also analyse the pension sector with respect to efficiency and equity considerations.

Government expenditure is financed by taxes and government borrowing and is classified into three main types. These are government final consumption expenditure, general government expenditure and transfer payments. Looking at figure 1 it is clear that the function labelled social protection accounts for the largest portion of government expenditure. This function includes state provisions, jobseekers' allowance, income support and housing benefits. In 2009, ￡251.6 billion pounds was spent on social protection in the UK, representing 35% of total government expenditure that year. On average over the five-year period, environment protection received the least government expenditure as a sector, (￡12.5billion) representing 1.97% of total expenditure.

Figure 2 uses data from table 2 and shows, with the exception of the function labelled economic affairs, each function of government expenditure to be relatively stable over the time period. Health, education, public order and safety, defence and recreation appear as almost straight lines on the graph, indicating no/minimal change as a percentage of total government expenditure throughout the time period. Interestingly there is an increase in the percentage of total government expenditure spent on economic affairs from ￡40.8 billion (6.6% of total government expenditure) in 2007 to ￡69.8 billion (10.2% of total government expenditure) in 2008. Economic affairs includes agriculture, mining and other industries, one could speculate that the observed change in expenditure could be the result of the UK government increasing expenditure in an attempt to protect its industries from the effects of the looming global financial crisis. Figure 2 also illustrates clearly that with the exception of social protection, each function accounts for less than 20% of total expenditure.

Equity considerations relate almost entirely to those pensions currently provided. It is optimal for consumers to smooth consumption over their lifetimes, however those with very low income may be unable to save whilst working; as a result they could delay retirement and work longer. The government has difficulty distinguishing between these individuals, and those who could afford to save, but instead chose to spend their income. To distinguish, the government could conduct a lifetime earnings test. However, this would be difficult in practise, and would not take into consideration wealth that has been inherited. This highlights the difficulty between trying to treat people fairly, according to their lifetime income, and trying to achieve an equitable outcome that would redistribute to the poor.

Pensions are a one off purchase, consumers do not learn by trial and error, and many find them complicated, due to the vast number of products available. Standardised financial information about pensions is now supplied; although, low literacy and numeracy rates among UK adults mean this information may not always be understood. Consumers may choose to purchase through a financial adviser, although these are often remunerated through commission for products that they sell. Subsequently consumers cannot always expect to be recommended the best product for their individual needs. This market failure can be known as asymmetry of information. Such information problems act as barriers to individuals saving for retirement. Barr and Diamond (2006) state that there may be efficiency and equity implications, since the worst informed are also the worst off financially. Choi et al (2004) found that simplifying pension options; such as reducing the number of funds, increases participation.

The UK Government could meet its equity objective through the use of a means tested benefit system, which would be paid to anyone of old age satisfying a given wealth and income eligibility criteria. Means testing provides a cost effective way of targeting those in need, compared to merely an increase in the basic state pension, (which is criticised for reducing incentives for working people to save for retirement).

There is an alternative method to the UK's Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) method currently in place. The funded system collects and invests contributions from the working population in a fund for when they are retired. Increased longevity means the level of annual spending that the individual will be able to finance will reduce, although the funded system offers a higher rate of return as individuals can invest in stock markets and bonds. With this higher expected return also comes increased investment. Unlike the funded system, the PAYG method allows aggregate risks to be spread across generations. The transition from PAYG to a funded system would also be difficult, as one generation would need to pay for their pensions, as well as their parents' generation.

Market failures, such as asymmetry of information provide rationale for the Government to intervene by regulating financial products. This is known as process regulation, as governments set standards for the process of buying and selling financial services. As well as regulating the market, the government subsidises pension saving, by allowing individuals who are contributing to personal private pensions to receive income tax relief. This tax relief encourages people to save in pension funds. The current UK tax system favours rich individuals, the Government could be more equitable by making subsidies more generous to middle/low class earners, (by limiting tax relief to the basic rate for everyone), or by placing tighter caps on the amount of contributions that attract tax relief.

Government expenditure has remained stable in the UK for the past five years, with social protection being the function that accounts for most of government expenditure. Government intervention in the pension sector may be required for a number of reasons. The government could provide a basic level of support through means-tested benefits, although this may reduce people's incentive to save for themselves. The alternative is that the government provides a minimum pension, and relies on additional private saving, (which may be encouraged through subsidies)

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