英專家稱退休金制度已不適合21世紀

Millions of workers will be exposed to "risky", hard-to-understand and outdated retirement saving schemes under the government's scheme to automatically enrol people into pensions, former Downing Street adviser Dr Ros Altmann has warned.

前英國政府顧問羅斯奧爾特曼博士警告稱，政府將民衆自動納入退休金的方案將令數百萬工人陷入高風險、難以理解又過時的退休金儲備系統。

More than 1.6 million people have already been placed into pension schemes under the Government's automatic enrolment initiative, which started in October 2012 and is expected to result in around 11 million new pension savers over the next five years.

目前已有超過160萬民衆納入政府自動註冊方案的養老系統中，此係統自2012年10月啓動，預計五年後納入約1100萬新退休金儲戶。

But in a report, Pensions – Time for change, Altmann said: "The future for pensions is more complex and risky than ever before." She called for an overhaul of defined contribution (DC) pensions which, she argued, "are not fit for 21st-century lives".

然而在一份名爲《退休金--是時候改變》的報告中，奧爾特曼稱：“退休金未來的複雜性和風險性將前所未有。”她呼籲對固定繳款退休金進行一次改革，對此她稱：“固定繳款退休金已不適合21世紀。”

DC schemes offer payouts based on the performance of the funds that the saver's money is invested in, unlike final salary schemes where employees are guaranteed a set income on retirement. They are cheaper for firms to run because the employee is taking on the investment risk, and are likely to be the type of scheme on offer to workers through auto-enrolment.

與提供給僱員退休後固定薪水的最終薪水方案不同，固定繳款退休金制度根據儲戶投資基金的績效來提供退休金。後者對於企業的運轉來說更易承擔，因爲僱員承擔了投資風險，而且這種制度可能通過自動註冊即爲僱員提供養老。

People with DC schemes use their retirement savings to buy an annuity when they retire, which sets the size of their annual income for life. But the rates on offer fluctuate and comparing deals is made more complicated by the variety of different annuities you can buy, which depend on factors like the state of your health and whether you want them to provide for just yourself or your partner as well.

在固定繳款退休金制度下，人們退休後應個人存款來買年金，這就固定了一生的年收入。然而由於每個人健康狀況不同，而且退休金可自用也可與配偶共同使用，因此退休金種類繁多，這就令波動和比較交易的價格更加複雜。

The report said: "The risk of buying at the wrong time, choosing the wrong annuity or failing to find the right rate could increase the number of poorer pensioners by many millions."

該報告稱：“購買時間錯誤的風險，選擇錯誤的退休金和錯誤的價格都將導致窮困的退休金購買者的人數增加，可能增加數百萬。”

Altmann, a former director-general of over-50s group Saga, recently said pensioners could be taking on "the biggest gamble" of their lives when they buy an annuity, and many may never live to see any return on their money.

五旬以上老人組織撒加(saga)的前總主管奧爾特曼最近稱，購買退休金的儲戶將面臨前所未有的“巨大風險”，可能永遠也不會有任何收益。

Her report, sponsored by retirement products provider MetLife, surveyed more than 3,000 people. It argued that auto-enrolment will increase "coverage but not adequacy of pensions".

她的這份報告由退休產品提供者Metlife贊助，該贊助商對超過3000個人進行了調查，稱自動註冊退休金制度將增加“退休金的覆蓋範圍而非養老金的妥善性。”

Altmann said the problem with the Government's pension reforms is that they require people "to be able to cope with risks that they do not really understand".

奧爾特曼稱政府養老金改革的問題是，他們要求人們“能夠應對未知的風險”。

Consumer research carried out for MetLife found that three-fifths (60%) of people do not understand or are unsure if they are fully aware of the risks of investing in a DC scheme. This figure rose to three-quarters (75%) of people aged between 18 and 24 years old.

Metlife的消費者調查顯示，3/5（60%）的民衆不清楚或不確定固定繳款退休金制度下投資的風險。此數據在年齡處於18至24歲間的民衆中升至3/4（75%）。

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of people said they would be more likely to save into a pension if it guaranteed a level of retirement income.

約有3/4（72%）的民衆稱，他們更願意將錢存入能保障一定退休金數額的系統中。

Altmann said that to shore up more savings, people should think about working for longer and easing into retirement in phases, perhaps by initially going part time.

奧爾特曼稱，人們如果想要穩住更多資金，應考慮增加工作的年限，退休前先做一段兼職，從而逐步適應退休。

"A record 1 million people are now still working beyond age 65," she said. "The old notions of 'early retirement' are being consigned to history, but far too few workers are planning ahead for longer working lives.

她稱：“記錄表明，目前超過65歲仍在工作的人有100萬。過去‘早退休’的說法已成爲歷史，現在工人正考慮增加他們的工作年限。”

"This has to be part of the solution to our pensions crisis and, in fact, can be a very positive model for the future. The whole concept of retirement is changing. It will become a process rather than an event."

事實上，這必須是解決我們退休金危機的一部分，因爲它將是一個對未來非常有積極作用的模式。整個退休的概念都在變化，這種變化是循序漸進的，並不是一蹴而就的。

A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: "Our reforms to the state pension will introduce a single, simple, decent state pension, which will provide a solid foundation for further saving through automatic enrolment into workplace pensions with employer contributions and tax relief."

就業與退休保障部門發言人稱：“我們國家退休金改革將會引進一個獨立、簡單又適宜的國家退休金制度，將爲未來的儲蓄打下堅實的基礎，該儲蓄將僱員的貢獻和減免的稅收自動註冊到其工作地的退休金系統中。