经济学人下载:生育高峰期的一代人正在退休

A special report on pensions养老保险特别报道Too much, too young太多，太年轻

Watch your wallets: the baby-boomers are beginning to retire
看住钱包：生育高峰期的一代人正在退休

WHEN MOST LABOUR was agricultural, people generally toiled in the fields until they dropped. The idea of formal retirement did not become feasible until work moved from farms to factories. In 1889 Otto von Bismarck[1] famously introduced the world’s first (modest[2]) pension scheme in Germany. In the 20th century, when universal suffrage became widespread, a period of retirement after work was seen as a mark of a civilised social democracy.

过去，大多数劳力只是下田干活，直到再也干不动，才结束在土地上辛勤的劳作。自劳动从牧场转到工厂开始，正式退休这个概念才被广为流传。1889年，俾斯麦首次在德国实施第一个（小范围）养老金方案。20世纪，选举逐渐开始普及，离职后如果能享有一段退休时间，是一个国家文明民主的象征。

After the second world war pension provision increased markedly, but the number of elderly people was still quite small. In the 1970s and 1980s caring for them seemed easily affordable. Many countries even reduced their retirement ages.

第二次世界大战之后，养老金大幅增涨，而老年人的数量仍旧较少。20世纪70年代和80年代之间，负担照管老年人的费用似乎是件很容易的事情。很多国家甚至降低了退休年龄。

The demographic picture looks different now that the baby-boomers are starting to retire. In 1950 there were 7.2 people aged 20-64 for every person of 65 and more in the OECD. By 1980 the ratio had dropped to 5.1. Now it is around 4.1, and by 2050 it will be just 2.1. In short, every couple will be supporting a pensioner.

但是现在情况有所不同，从统计图表来看，生育高峰期的一代人开始逐渐退休。1950年，在世界经济与合作组织成员国里，年龄在20-64岁间的人与65岁及65岁以上的老年人的比例为7.2。在1980年，该比例降低为5.1，现在将近4.1，到2050年，这个数字仅仅是2.1。简单来说，就是每对夫妇需资助一位养老金领取人。