Amidst the intertwined challenges of economic transformation and cyclical fluctuations, the financial system bears the critical mission of stabilizing expectations, sustaining growth, and optimizing structural frameworks. Navigating direction and calibrating pace within this complex environment has become an unavoidable reality for the financial industry.
Sina Finance's special series, "New Financial Voyage: Steering a Steady Course," focuses on macroeconomic policy directions, the operational logic of finance, and reforms in key sectors. It invites financial experts and scholars to delve into how finance can better serve the real economy and enhance systemic resilience, documenting the crucial judgments and practical pathways of China's finance sector as it "seeks progress while maintaining stability."
Wang Zengwu, Deputy Director of the Banking Research Office at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Finance, participated in the "18th Golden Kylin Forum: New Financial Voyage," sharing insights from his research on pension finance. Centering on the theme of "Where is the path for commercial banks to assist pension finance?", he provided a deep analysis of the current landscape, pain points, and potential breakthrough directions in the field, drawing on a year-long investigative practice.
To explore a pension finance model suitable for the path of Chinese modernization, Wang Zengwu's team interviewed over 30 financial and non-financial institutions, covering forty to fifty clients from rural, urban, and suburban areas. Their research uncovered widespread industry issues. Currently, financial institutions generally prioritize pension finance as one of the "Five Key Areas of Finance," with business activities revolving around pension service finance, pension industry finance, and the pension finance ecosystem. However, the client base served predominantly focuses on urban residents, and even more specifically, on better-off urban dwellers.
"Pension concerns everyone; rural groups also have strong pension needs," Wang Zengwu stated. He proposed that while existing commercial bank pension financial services have their merits, achieving higher-quality development might require breakthroughs beyond the financial sector itself. From a policy perspective, pension finance requires coordinated efforts from multiple departments, involving not only financial regulators but also requiring coordination with the Ministry of Finance, medical institutions, healthcare security departments, and others to build a cross-departmental coordination mechanism that better empowers special groups like those who have lost autonomy or suffer from cognitive impairments. Simultaneously, rural and suburban residents possess vast resources that are not yet capitalized; exploring how to convert these resources into assets, aligning with new rural revitalization mechanisms, is a direction worthy of policy exploration.
From a service perspective, Wang Zengwu pointed out several existing challenges. Within the three-pillar pension system, the appropriateness of the 20,000 yuan annual limit for individual pension accounts is debated. Furthermore, even if financial institutions strive to improve portfolio returns, they may still be unable to fully offset the tax implications, necessitating timely policy adjustments. Pension institutions often operate with light assets, with some assets being government-allocated and lacking collateral, leading to prominent financing difficulties that urgently require financial institutions to explore empowerment pathways.
The diversification of client demands also places higher requirements on pension financial services. Wang Zengwu indicated that while financial institutions can already provide customized insurance and wealth management products, elderly groups, especially single seniors, have strong emotional attachment needs. Many insist on visiting bank branches monthly to collect their pensions and engage in conversation, seeking spiritual fulfillment. The research also found that special client groups have varied needs; some teachers in Southern Jiangsu desire exclusive pension communities, while groups requiring high-value specialized medical services, akin to Hong Kong casino magnate Stanley Ho, also have demands that need urgent addressing.
Based on the research findings, Wang Zengwu highlighted the significant differences in the demands of the elderly population. Rural groups with uncapitalized resources crave asset appreciation, urban residents value social activities, and high-end clients pursue a high-quality life in their later years. Additionally, amidst the second wave of wealth accumulation since the reform and opening-up, family property disputes are frequent, making "aging in security" a core demand—meaning harmony among children during one's lifetime and the proper handling of reputation and assets after death.
Addressing these needs, Wang Zengwu proposed specific directions for consideration. Rural pension solutions could leverage rural revitalization to explore new land property rights systems. Urban pension needs should focus on home-based care, promoting collaboration between financial institutions and communities to extend non-financial services, such as providing home maintenance and other convenient services for the elderly via apps. Concurrently, two key areas deserve attention: first, achieving stable investment returns for pension funds under controllable risk; second, building a professional talent system for pension finance, improving occupational qualification mechanisms similar to CFP or FPCP, while introducing supporting non-financial policies to underpin the public's pursuit of a high-quality life in old age.
Wang Zengwu also shared his perspective on pension institutions. He expressed that after the research, he more strongly agrees with the concept of assisted living facilities described in the book "Being Mortal"—they need not be high-end or luxurious; the core is to provide seniors with freedom of living space, preserve personal belongings and habits, and satisfy the need for a sense of belonging. This model might hold more value than luxurious institutions.
Wang Zengwu emphasized that financial activities related to wills represent an important future breakthrough point for pension finance. In the current wealth wave, wills can effectively reduce family property disputes. Historical examples, such as Li Hongzhang and his son using wills for asset succession, can serve as references. Commercial banks could介入 the will service domain, collaborating with independent third-party institutions to empower family wealth inheritance and "aging in security." He also cautioned that wills require regular updates, suggesting an annual review, noting their functional similarity to family trusts and insurance trusts.
"Ultimately, beyond the existing sophisticated financial services, the key to pension finance may lie outside finance itself," Wang Zengwu concluded. Only by transcending a purely financial mindset and embracing multi-departmental coordination, diverse demands, and non-financial services can pension finance be truly adapted to meet the needs of the entire population.
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