Macroeconomic instability – unemployment

In the Ukrainian economy there is a steady growing trend of the actual values of the indicator «unemployment rate». The main causes of excessive unemployment in the Ukrainian economy are three crises: a) crisis of 2008–2009, caused by the global financial crisis; b) crisis of 2014–2015, caused by the military aggression of the Russian Federation; c) crisis of 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic crises cause a decline in economic activity and falling demand for labor. A particularly negative trend is the growth of unemployment in the age group 35–49. It concentrates the most experienced and highly productive workforce. The Ukrainian economy is receiving a double crisis blow - reduction in production due to the recession and reduction of social labor productivity due to the emigration of the most experienced and highly productive employees. The same problem arises due to rising unemployment in the group of experienced labor aged 50 to 59 years. Once again, there is an urgent need to point out the aggravation of the problem of the deficit of the Pension Fund of Ukraine. After all, the aging of the country's population, rising unemployment and labor emigration cause an increase in the pension burden per employee. This can eventually lead to the collapse of the current pension insurance system. at some stage, a significant part of future retirees, who today in good faith pay contributions to the PFC as employed, will not have anything to pay a pension. On a sectorial basis, the main factors in the growth of unemployment are the decline in production in industry and construction. An increase in capital investment does not lead to a decrease in unemployment. This paradox is explained by the fact that the absolute amount of capital investment in the Ukrainian economy is so small that it does not cause a significant impact on employment growth and unemployment reduction. The main vectors of the state employment policy are: stimulation of industrial production and construction, radical improvement of the investment climate in the Ukrainian economy.

Vývoj důchodového pojištění na území dnešní ČR od počátku 20. století po současnost

The article deals with the problems of pension insurance in the territory of today’s Czech Republic from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. The main principles of the development of the pension system in the given period were identified and the analysis was performed mainly in terms of the personal and material scope of insurance, insurance obligations, and briefly in terms of the organizational security of the pension system as well. This analysis was carried out in four selected periods. At the end of the article, the relevant findings from this historical development are summarized and with their use the author's own proposal for the development of the pension insurance system in the Czech Republic in the future is presented.

Modernization of the system of formation and use of financial resources of pension insurance in Ukraine

Introduction. Due to the demographic, socio-economic and financial problems facing Ukraine, the need to modernize Ukraine’s pension system is quite acute. The basis for its improvement should be changes that will ensure the creation of a balanced and equitable pension insurance system, which will operate on the basis of transparency and efficiency, the main vocation of which will be to ensure a high standard of living and social integration of existing and future retirees. The purpose of the paper is to study the problems of the functioning of the pension system of Ukraine and to find ways to improve the system of formation and use of financial resources of pension insurance. Results. Real and priority steps towards the implementation of the outlined vectors of reform on the way to improving the pension system should be comprehensive systemic measures to de-shadow the economy, create jobs, legalize the labor market, reduce pressure on the payroll and simplify tax administration, ensure adequate wages and income. In order to improve the mechanism of effective use of the pension system, it is necessary to modernize the existing system of administrative, financial and budgetary management. The key point of such modernization is to take into account the completeness of financial security, efficiency and effectiveness of financial flow management. Ensuring the efficient use of budget funds of the pension system is considered as one of the ways to increase the provision of these funds. The use of budget funds should be based on a balance of opportunities and needs for financial resources, analysis of their adequacy, assessment of their effectiveness and manageability, the availability of innovative levers and management schemes, other components of financial management, soundness of financial flows. One of the important activities to solve the problem of formation and use of financial resources is to overcome the problem of distrust and lack of public awareness about private pension provision. Conclusion. The urgency of the chosen ways to modernize the pension system of Ukraine is increasing due to the fact that it will concern the improvement not only of the pension insurance system, but also of the entire economic system of Ukraine. After all, it will create additional incentives for the economy to emerge from the shadows, will form a great potential of financial resources that will be directed to investment and economic development of the country.

Die Auswirkungen des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns auf die Rentenentwicklung

Der Beitrag untersucht auf Basis eines Simulationsmodells und empirischer Daten die Auswirkungen des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns auf die Rentenversicherung. Dabei werden sowohl die Wirkungen auf das Rentensystem insgesamt als auch die individuellen Rentenansprüche von Beschäftigten analysiert. Auf das Rentensystem insgesamt hat der Mindestlohn praktisch keine Auswirkungen, weil der Impuls des Mindestlohns auf die gesamtwirtschaftliche Lohnsumme letztlich zu gering ist. Auf individueller Ebene können sich die Rentenanwartschaften der Versicherten je nachdem, wie deutlich ihr Verdienst aufgrund der Mindestlohneinführung gestiegen ist, erhöhen. Die Rentenanwartschaften bleiben aber bei einem Verdienst in Höhe des Mindestlohns selbst bei durchgängiger Vollzeitbeschäftigung unter dem Niveau der Grundsicherung im Alter. Abstract: The Effects of Minimum Wage on the Statutory Pension Insurance in Germany In 2015, Germany introduced a national minimum wage. Based on a simulation model and empirical data we analyse its effects on the statutory pension insurance. We will consider aggregate effects on the pension insurance system in total as well as on individual pension entitlements of employees. Our results show that the minimum wage has only negligible effects on the pension system as a whole because the minimum wage induced wage effects on the economy’s total wage bill are rather small. On the individual level, the minimum wage can help to increase individual pension entitlements. The magnitude depends on individual wage increases resulting from the minimum wage introduction. However, even continuous full-time employment at the minimum wage level will not be enough to lift individual pension entitlements above the guaranteed minimum pension level.

Improving the Financial Support of Pension Insurance in Russia

The financial support of the compulsory pension insurance system in Russia is receiving much attention both in government and in scientific circles. During economic crises, the load on the country's social sphere increases, which leads to an exacerbation of the unresolved problems of the Russian pension insurance system, arousing in society an increased interest in finding various ways of its development. The purpose of the study was to substantiate the need for additional sources of pension funding, as well as to improve the approach to taxation of incomes of various population categories. The study was based on the analysis of the mechanism for forming the financial resources of the compulsory pension insurance system. It featured theoretical and applied aspects of the pension insurance funding system in Russia. The author reviewed relevant publications by Russian authors, who offered various solution of the above-mentioned problem. The paper focuses on the sources of the budget revenues of the Pension Fund and the main parameters of the mechanism for collecting insurance contributions for compulsory pension insurance. The author defined such problem areas as the dependence of the Pension Fund budget on subsidies from the federal budget and the regressive tariff scale for insurance contributions. The article also contains a comparative analysis of the tax burden on wages in Russia and in the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Any further development of the system of pension insurance financial support should be aimed at eliminating the regressive nature of the collection of insurance premiums, as well as at differentiating the values of the tax rate for personal income tax depending on the level of income of the taxpayer.

The path forward for sustainability of the pension system in a historical context

The long-term sustainability and stability of the pension insurance system can be provided on the basis of a pay-as-you-go system, specifically the NDC variant, which can combine the main type of solidarity (between those who can and want to be gainfully active and those for whom the insured event has occurred) with income solidarity. When reforming the pension system in this manner the opportunity arises to begin gradual changes through fully merit system reform and therefore significantly motivating of extending the period of productivity (putting off retirement) through the upgrade of this system for persons who have reached the retirement age as specified by law.This paper aims to substantiate and explore possible changes in this direction that will not endanger anyone’s entitlements when the reforms are implemented (they have got the form of Pareto improvement), as they derive their funds by extending the time of individual productivity. To this end, the possibility of introducing an extension on top of current system of pay-as-you-go insurance, which could be entered voluntarily by persons who have already reached or are near statutory retirement age, is proposed, and modeled. The extension would operate on the principle that the paid premiums will be transformed into a lifetime annuity. The system would be significantly motivating which for most people means extending life at the fullest, associated with the option to retain beneficial social contacts and gradually relax their gainful activity without experiencing an untoward decrease in income.

FORMATION OF PENSION RIGHTS OF CITIZENS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN THE SYSTEM OF COMPULSORY PENSION INSURANCE

The present paper defines that the changes made to the pension legislation in the process of the ongoing pension reform have seriously modernized the mechanism for the formation of pension rights of persons insured in the compulsory pension insurance system, and have tightened the conditions for assigning old-age pensions. The analysis made it possible to identify the features of the formation of pension rights in terms of insurance and funded pensions for various categories of insured persons. Assessment of the pension rights for 2017 of 27,015 thousand employees of medium and large organizations and individual entrepreneurs insured in the compulsory pension insurance system (CPS), made it possible to conclude that under the current rules for the formation of pension rights to persons insured in the compulsory pension insurance system, in the conditions of the economic crisis prevailing in the Russian Federation, after the end of the transition period in 2024, a significant category of employees will need more than 15 years of insurance experience to be eligible to assign an old-age insurance pension. Starting from 2024, the number of people who have not received the right to an old-age insurance pension and who can expect to receive a social old-age pension only after five years will significantly increase among those who have reached retirement age. Among those retiring, the number of persons who have formed the minimum retirement points will increase; accordingly, in the future, the number of pensioners receiving the minimum pension, the size of which is lower than the pensioner's subsistence minimum, will increase. The authors concluded that to improve the situation with the formation of pension rights, first of all, it is necessary to stabilize the economic situation in the country, to ensure the development of the economy, to increase the income of the insured in the compulsory pension insurance system. In addition, it is necessary to activate the state policy in the field of legalization of labor relations, make changes to the mechanism for the formation of pension rights, linking this mechanism with the real contribution of the employee throughout his labor activity, thereby increasing his interest in the formation of pensions, and for categories of employees with traditional low incomes and those employed in socially significant spheres of activity (for example, education, health care, science) to make the transition to the state pension system.