Editorial: Effective measures needed to reduce social security concerns for elderly

A growing number of people are expressing concerns about their post-retirement lives. Voters are particularly interested in pension and nursing care services among key issues for the July 10 House of Councillors election.

The provision of financial support to those who receive low pension benefits or are not covered by public pension programs, as well as the reduction and exemption from nursing care pension premiums for elderly people, will likely be postponed as the government has decided to delay the planned consumption tax hike scheduled for April 2017. This has apparently fueled anxiety among the public about their post-retirement years.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso recently made a remark during a campaign speech in Otaru, Hokkaido, which could offend senior citizens. "I heard someone on TV saying something totally ridiculous, like 'I'm worried about how I'm going to carry on after I turn 90 years old,' and I wanted to ask that person, 'Just how long do you plan on living?'" Aso said.

What Aso claimed in his speech was that it is problematic that personal financial assets in Japan have exceeded 1,700 trillion yen but are not sufficiently spent. However, elderly people save money out of concern about their livelihoods because the government has failed to implement adequate policy measures. It is the responsibility of the government to make sure that consumers can spend money without worrying about their livelihoods. It is extremely inappropriate for such a high-ranking government official to ridicule senior citizens while shutting his eyes to shortcomings in policy measures.

Not all elderly people are healthy and wealthy at the age of 75 like Aso. It is only natural that those seniors who do not have family or enough money are worried about their future.

Japanese people's average lifespan is increasing, and the number of centenarians in the country has exceeded 60,000. There is an estimate that the number of those aged 100 or over will exceed 680,000 by 2050. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to change the pure silver cups that it presents to 100-year-old people on Respect-for-the-Aged Day, a national holiday, to silver-plated cups. This is because the costs of such gifts will only grow if the population of centenarians continues to increase.

People generally take out life insurance policies to prepare for risks of dying at younger ages. In Japan, however, an increasing number of people are rather concerned about what are called "risks of living longer," and take out medical insurance policies whereby they can receive benefits when they are hospitalized or diagnosed with cancer.

The public pension is a social security system to prepare people for "the risks of living longer" because policyholders can receive benefits regardless of how long they live. But the government has introduced what is called a "macroeconomic slide" under which the level of pension benefits changes depending on consumer prices to sustain public pension programs amid the declining birthrate and the aging of the population.

Commercial medical insurance policies are gaining popularity among consumers apparently because many of them believe public social security programs are inadequate and unreliable.

There are many people aged 90 and over who are working and involved in cultural activities thereby contributing to society. Measures to extend the "healthy life expectancy," a period where people can stay healthy both physically and mentally, have been incorporated in "a plan to promote the dynamic engagement of all citizens," which the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has approved. It is essential to implement measures to prevent longevity from posing risks.