年金改革―民主案は税方式なのか

英文はきわめて平易ですが、内容が難しい。
日本語で何度も読み返しましたが、意味がわからない部分が多い。
皆さん、この社会保障制度改革の内容がわかりましたか？
私には理解不能でした＾＾。
はやい話、国民はもっと費用を負担しなさいということでしょう。
税でまかなうといったって、税金は国民が支払っているものです。
まったく同じことではないでしょうか。
（スラチャイ記）

2011/01/21
--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 20
EDITORIAL: Pension system reform
年金改革―民主案は税方式なのか

The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Japan say they want to hold talks with the opposition parties to push integrated tax and social security reform.
　「税と社会保障の一体改革」をめざす政府・与党は、野党とも協議を進めたいという。

But such talks are unlikely to take place as long as the DPJ's blueprint for pension reform remains ambiguous.
だが、肝心の民主党の年金改革案があやふやでは、話が始まらないのではないか。

The ruling party has failed to offer a clear-cut reform plan and given half-baked explanations about its vision for the future of the pension system.
　原因は民主党がきちんとした案を示さず、中途半端な説明をしてきたことにある。

First of all, the DPJ needs to build solid consensus within the party through debate and make clear its reform plan to the public.
まずは党内の議論を整理して、国民に民主党案とは何なのかを明らかにすることが先決だろう。

The DPJ proposed a new tax-financed system to provide guaranteed minimum monthly pension benefits of 70,000 yen ($840).
　これまでに民主党は月額７万円の最低保障年金をつくるとし、その財源は税で賄う「税方式」としてきた。

But Kaoru Yosano, the newly appointed minister of economic and fiscal policy, is advocating a pension program based on the social insurance formula--financed by premiums paid by the people.
Critics have been quick to point out the difference between Yosano's idea and the party's proposal.
これに対し、経済財政相に就任した与謝野馨氏は「社会保険方式」を主張していることから、食い違いが指摘されている。

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and the DPJ should swiftly solve this problem.
菅直人首相と民主党は早急に、この問題を解決すべきである。

Unlike the social insurance formula, in which benefits paid to individual pensioners are affected by their premium payment records, the tax-financed system has the advantage of being free from the problem of people who fail to pay into the system.
　税方式には、保険料の納付実績が問われる社会保険方式と違って未納問題が起きないという利点がある。

In 2004, when the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito ran the government, the Cabinet was hit by a series of revelations about past nonpayment of premiums for the national pension program by ministers.
Kan, who questioned the government over the issue, was forced to resign as DPJ chief after it was revealed that he had also failed to pay premiums for a certain period.
　自公政権時代の２００４年、閣僚の未納が相次ぎ発覚し、これを追及した菅氏自身にも未納が見つかり党代表を辞任した。

After that, Kan and DPJ Secretary-General Katsuya Okada started making remarks that indicated the party was seeking to introduce a tax-financed pension program. They said the pension system envisioned by the party would eliminate the problem of nonpayment and ensure that all people would receive benefits.
その後、菅氏や岡田克也・現幹事長は「未納者はいなくなる」「全員がもらえる」と、税方式を前提にした説明をしてきた。

The DPJ's manifesto for the general election in 2009, when the party was led by Yukio Hatoyama, promised to create a pension program to provide guaranteed minimum monthly benefits of 70,000 yen for all people funded by revenue from the consumption tax.
　鳩山由紀夫代表のもとで戦った一昨年の総選挙でも、政権公約に「消費税を財源とした最低保障年金を創設し、全ての人が７万円以上の年金を受け取れるようにする」と書いた。

Many voters interpreted this as a proposal of a tax-financed pension system.
これを税方式と理解した人も多いはずだ。

In the "basic principles for the new pension system" announced in June last year, however, the DPJ stressed its intention to maintain the insurance formula. The party said with the principle of "zero cases" of nonpayment or nonparticipation, the system is intended to ensure the collection of premiums so that no people will be left without a pension.
　ところが、民主党が昨年６月に示した「新年金制度の基本原則」では「未納・未加入ゼロの原則　保険料の確実な徴収により無年金者をなくす」と、保険方式を強調した。

Then in December, the party's policy research council for fundamental tax and social security reform, headed by DPJ heavyweight Hirohisa Fujii, now deputy chief Cabinet secretary, confirmed the policy shift.
The panel's interim report said the future pension system should be an income-linked social insurance program supplemented by tax-financed guaranteed minimum benefits.
　さらに１２月、藤井裕久・現官房副長官が会長をつとめた税と社会保障の抜本改革調査会は「社会保険方式である所得比例年金を基本に、税を財源とする最低保障年金を補足給付する」と「中間整理」に明記した。

This proposal is not fundamentally inconsistent from Yosano's argument that adopting the social insurance method would be the rational approach to pension reform.
　これなら「社会保険方式で改革するのが合理的」という与謝野氏と根本的な違いはない。

Under the current system, half of the basic pension benefits paid to all beneficiaries are covered by tax revenue.
The only difference in the DPJ's proposal is that tax-financed guaranteed minimum benefits would be reduced or removed for people entitled to a certain amount or more of benefits.
現行制度は受給者全員について基礎年金の半分を税で賄うが、民主案では、年金が一定額以上の人には税で賄う最低保障部分を減らしたり、払わなかったりするだけだ。

The DPJ's policy shift to the insurance formula after it came to power could be described as pragmatic.
　民主党が政権獲得後、保険方式に傾斜したのは現実的な動きともいえる。

That's because tax financing would sharply increase the amount of taxpayer money needed and is likely to require large increases in the consumption and other taxes.
税方式にこだわると必要な財源が膨らみ、消費税などの増税幅が大きくなる可能性が高いからだ。

The change of the proposal should also make it easier for the DPJ to strike a deal with the LDP and New Komeito, which are espousing the insurance approach.
保険方式を是としている自民党や公明党などと協議する上でも有効だ。

The biggest problem with the current system is that a large number of people fail to pay into the system and will eventually find themselves with significantly reduced or no pension after retirement.
　現行制度の最大の問題は、未納者が多く発生し、いずれ低年金・無年金になってしまうことだ。

The challenge is how to prevent this by using the limited tax revenue available.
貴重な税財源をどう使ってそれを防ぐのか。

The government and the ruling party must show an outline of its plan to overhaul the pension system as soon as possible to find common ground with the opposition camp and push through the reform.
与野党で一致できる点を見つけ出して改革を進めるには、政府・与党案の骨格を早く示すことが欠かせない。