日本退休金和福利金將會減少

Recently the Yomiuri News reported the following:
　厚生労働省の社会保障審議会（厚労相の諮問機関）の年金部会は１１日、厚生年金の支給開始年齢を将来的に６８～７０歳に引き上げるための議論を本格的にスタートさせ、三つの案を提示した。
　同省は、年内の改革案取りまとめを目指す。
　厚生年金の支給は、男性は２０２５年度まで、女性は３０年度までに、それぞれ６０歳から段階的に６５歳まで引き上げ、基礎年金と合わせることがすでに決まっている。
　だが、厚労省は、少子高齢化の急速な進展や、国民の平均寿命の伸びを念頭に、年金財政の安定化のためには年金支給開始年齢の一層の引き上げの検討に入る必要があると判断した。
(試譯文)
On the 11th, the pension department's meeting of the Social Security Council (a consultative body of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare) of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare formally started the discussion on increasing the eligibility age for payments of welfare pension to 68 - 70 years old in the future, and presented three proposals.
The said ministry aimed at the finalization of the reform bill before the year end.
Regarding the provision of the welfare pension, it would be pulled up to 65 years old. For the men it would be pulled up till the 2025 fiscal year, for the women it would be pulled up gradually until 2030 fiscal year, respectively; and it was already decided to unite it with the basic pension.
But, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, bearing in mind the low birth rate and growth of national life expectancy, further judged that it was necessary to raise the pensionable age so as to stabilize the financing scheme.


It seems that the welfare payment in Japan would be shrinking gradually in the coming years.