Prudent reform should not be a way to avoid reform

Making breakthroughs in one part of pension system reform is not an excuse to delay reform in other fields, says an editorial in Southern Metropolis Daily. Excerpts:

It is reported some ministerial departments of the central government have reached a consensus on extending the length of time to pay for one's pension insurance as well as to reform the dual-track model of China's pension systems for civil servants and ordinary citizens.

That the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has clarified the main direction of reforming the dual-track model pension system and has also emphasized the necessity of extending the paying period of ordinary citizens' pension insurance shows the decision-makers intention to plan the two appeals as a whole as the lowest common denominator that can satisfy both the common citizens and the civil servants.

Prolonging the paying period of ordinary citizens' pension insurance is different from extending the retirement age because most people work much longer than the current minimum requirement of 15 years' paying period for pension insurance. Under the principle of "the more you pay, the more you get", the decision to prolong the paying period of pension insurance will not necessarily be resisted by the people.

The real difficult task is to reform the pension system of civil servants. Yet the authority explained that the prudence of carrying out this reform is to reduce social shock, and all crucial reforms must be taken in small steps.

However, if no concrete breakthroughs can be realized at this crucial occasion and all attention is paid to improving the pension insurance system of ordinary citizens, this pace of reform runs counter to its original intention.