已開發國家年金自動調整機制之發展與變革

The Development and Reform of Pension Automatic Adjustment Mechanisms in Developed Countries

過去30 年來，在人口老化、年金制度成熟，以及勞動市場展望不佳等情況下，西方國家普遍對其年金制度進行改革。年金改革的主要挑戰，是如何同時兼顧老年經濟安全的保障，以及年金財務的永續，而這兩個面向都與年金的給付水準有直接的關聯。為了提升年金財務的永續性，許多西方國家在1990 年代以後開始建立年金自動平衡機制（automatic balance/balancing mechanism）。此種機制的運作，是依據年金的償付能力（solvency）與永續性（sustainability）指標來自動調整年金給付，以提升年金的長期財務均衡。此種新興機制的發展，讓傳統公共年金制度的發展產生了重大變化，不僅象徵著公共年金政策發展邏輯的調整，同時也根本地改變了公共年金給付水準的決定方式。本研究檢視西方國家年金自動調整機制與自動平衡機制的發展與意涵，比較主要國家年金自動平衡機制的設計，並分析此等發展對於公共年金制度的影響與衝擊。

Due to population aging, maturation of pension schemes and unfavorable labor market conditions, Western high-income countries have all conducted pension reforms during the past 30 years. One of the main challenges to pension reform is the need to balance two major goals of pension schemes: the protection of older people’s income and the maintenance of financial sustainability. Both of these dimensions are directly linked to benefit levels. Since the 1990s, many Western countries have developed a pension automatic balance mechanism (ABM) to improve financial soundness. Its main concept involves linking pension benefits to pension solvency and sustainability. This newly developed mechanism exerts significant impacts on traditional public pension schemes. To some extent, it signals a change in the development logic of public pensions. In addition, it alters fundamental principles for determining pension benefit levels. This paper contains three major parts. The first part reviews the development of the pension automatic adjustment mechanism and pension automatic balance mechanism. The second part compares pension automatic balance mechanisms among major countries. The final part analyzes the impacts and implications of pension automatic balance for public pension systems.