A Research On Retirement Age Delay Based On Different Education Level

Delaying retirement is a hot topic of academic debate in recent years, but there has been no countermeasure that can both make people satisfied and reduce the negative effects. This thesis argues that differentiated rigidity index is most appropriate tool to decide the retirement age and education level is such an index that is easy to use and can better solve practical problems. As China’s first specialized study on retirement delay based on education level, this thesis creates a new personal human capital stock calculation method including two factors, education and age, a method tested by an empirical study based on Solow and MRW model. Then, on the basis of an estimate of personal human capital stock of different age and education level, different retirement delay countermeasures can be compared clearly. The study found that retirement delay according to education level can increase total and average human capital of labor, promote economic growth and increase per capita income without significantly adding the pressure on total employment, but does not help to solve the employment structural contradictions. This thesis finally puts forward that retirement delay should be after remarkable achievements in industrial upgrading and rigidity index is better than flexible index on the decision of retirement age. Retirement delay should be started with the highly educated groups, as the groups of primary and lower education can not be included.This thesis covers four parts:In the first part, it gives a brief introduction of background, significance, relevant researches, structure and innovations.In the second part, it estimates personal human capital stock of different age and education level. Based on the life cycle theory of human capital, considering education level and age, several personal human stock assumptions are given. This thesis estimates personal human capital stock combined with these assumptions, and estimates the average human capital stock of the national employed population of working age. By introducing human capital data into Solow model and building MRW model for empirical research, the results significantly improves and proves that the calculation method of human capital stock can reliably reflect the real situation of human capital accumulation and can be used into mathematical projections.In the third part, different retirement delay countermeasures are compared. In the analysis of human capital structure of the national employed population of working age in2011, the current legal retirement age, two countermeasures of "one size fits all" and three countermeasures of retirement delay according to education level are compared by using the calculation method in the second part. There are two conclusions:Firstly, retirement delay based on education level can increase total and average human capital of labor and promote economic growth and increase per capita income. Secondly, although retirement delay according to education level dose not significantly increase the pressure on total employment, but does not help to solve the employment structural contradictions. Therefore, it is not the best time to delay retirement according to education level.In the last part, it finally puts forward four policy recommendations. Firstly, retirement delay should be after remarkable achievements in industrial upgrading. Secondly, retirement delay should be started with the highly educated groups. Thirdly, the retirement age of the groups of primary and lower education can not be delayed. Lastly, on the decision of retirement age, rigidity index is better than flexible index.