Pensions Agency Research Articles

Exploring the Causes and Policy Explanations for the Imbalance between Supply and Demand of Professional Healthcare Personnel in Grassroots Elderly Care Institutions in Qingdao

Current pension agency for with the deepening of aging degree and “combining medical and nursing care” policy response has many problems, widespread phenomenon is professional staff pension agency imbalance between supply and demand. In this study, the causes of this problem and its policy explanation are analyzed by using the in-depth interview method of qualitative research. Through the interviews with nurses, medical staff and management personnel in the local pension institutions in Qingdao, it is found that the causes of the imbalance between the supply and demand of professional medical staff mainly include insufficient number of medical staff, inconsistency between workload and income, tension between doctors and patients, and operation difficulties of pension institutions. The key to solving the problem is to promote cooperation between enterprises and schools, set up unified posts, improve the recruitment system, increase government subsidies and support, and formulate and implement targeted policies and measures to form a reasonable and efficient medical and nursing combination system.

DEVELOPMENT TRENDS OF GEORGIAN CAPITAL MARKET AND PENSION FUND

Since January 2019, a cumulative pension system has been launched in Georgia. The reform’s main goals are reducing fiscal pressure and ensuring a "decent" pension at retirement age. In addition, the possible positive impact of the accumulated pension fund on the capital market of Georgia is important. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the current reality of the capital market of Georgia. In order to determine what opportunities it creates in the investment process of the Georgian pension agency. During the research, we mainly used statistical analysis methods. The discussion is based on indicators such as: composition of total debt of non-financial companies in Georgia; liquidity and activity on the Georgian stock exchange; total balance of corporate bonds denominated in GEL; the ratio of the total capitalization of the stock market; assets of the Georgian pension agency and its investment portfolio. Due to research findings, although there is a lack of institutional investors in the financial markets of Georgia, there are no existing securities in the local market, which would allow the pension agency to make more investments in the local capital market. Growth at such a rate requires investing in assets with a higher risk than the existing ones. In particular, since the capital market assets have a higher rate of return, it is important for the policy of the pension agency to either increase the limits for investing in the foreign market, or to be more opportunities and alternatives in the local capital market.

4대 공적연금의 연령별 사망률 데이터 구축에 관한 연구

In this study, we aimed to address the issue of not reflecting the characteristics of each public pension system by constructing data on mortality rates by age group for the four public pensions, which had not been established before. To do this, we utilized NHID from National Health Insurance Service and estimated values from statistical yearbooks of the four public pension agencies, along with data obtained through information disclosure requests. Successfully, we constructed mortality rate data by age group. During the data construction process, issues such as data integration and correction arose, which were addressed using statistical methods. Using the constructed data, we compared the life tables of five groups: subscribers and recipients of the four major public pensions, and non-subscribers, for the years 2011 to 2018, and compared life expectancies. The comparison results showed that overall, the order of average life expectancy was non-participants ≤ National Pension ≤ Government employee Pension ≤ Military Pension ≤ Teachers Pension participants and recipients, with significant differences observed. This study is the first in Korea to construct mortality rate data by age group for the four public pensions, which could serve as a foundational dataset for new fiscal projections of public pensions, contributing to addressing issues related to public pension reform.

Influence of Retirement Experiences on Psychological Well-Being of Retired Teachers in East Gonja Municipality, Ghana

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of retirement experiences on psychological well-being of retired teachers in the East Gonja Municipality. The study employed a quantitative approach underpinned by analytical cross-sectional design. The target population of the study comprised of retired teachers in the East Gonja Municipality. A total of 320 retired teachers from East Gonja Municipality were purposively selected to constitute the sample for the study. Methodology: Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) and Psychological Well-Being Scale were adopted for data collection. Data was analysed using means and standard deviation and linear regression. Findings: The study found that most of the retired teachers in the East Gonja Municipality in the Savannah Region of Ghana experience positive emotions, express optimism, and are satisfied with their lives in their retirement phase of life. Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: The study concludes that retirement experiences are unique and can be a liberating experience for retired teachers, where they can pursue their interests and hobbies without any restrictions. It is recommended that retirement should be a time for retired teachers to focus on their health and well-being, a time they can pursue activities that promote physical and mental health. This study recommends to education system to provide pre-retirement counselling and post-retirement support programmes, focusing on mental health and well-being. Also, the study recommends to pension and retirement agencies to develop and implement workshops and peer support programmes to promote retired teachers’ psychological well-being, addressing issues of social isolation and identity loss.

საქართველოში საპენსიო ფონდების ბუღალტრული აღრიცხვისა და ფინანსური ანგარიშგების საკითხისათვის

In Georgia, A pension fund includes pension contributions made by employers, employees, the government, as well as any investment returns, gains or losses accrued on pension assets. The amount of accumulated funds depends on the amount of individual contributions, the profit of the fund and the number of participants. The pension system is a source of long-term financial resources, which contributes to the development of the capital market, the latter having a positive effect on the country's economy. Implementation a private pension system in our country is the most optimal decision, which will improve the long-term pension provision of pensioners. Countries in a situation similar to Georgia do not have to invent any radical innovations in the mentioned field, because European countries have a rich and diverse experience in the development of the social sphere. Sharing their experience is enough to develop your own model and successfully implement it in practice. Due to the great importance of pension funds, their accounting and reporting were included in the international accounting standards from the beginning. The first standard to regulate pension accounting with international practice - Statement of Standard Accounting Practice (SSAP) 24 - was created in Great Britain, which was launched in 1988 and remained for 12 years. The present value of the expected future payments under the pension program can be calculated and presented based on the current salary level, or on the basis of the projected salary level of the plan participants covering their entire period of service until retirement. In many countries, actuarial valuations are carried out at least every three years. If the actuarial valuations are not ready by the reporting date, the actuarial valuations of the nearest period are used as the base of the calculations and the valuation date is indicated. The management of pension funds are responsible for preparing and submitting financial statements of these funds. The government of the pension agency in Georgia are: the director, the supervisory board, the investment board and the senior investment officer. The director's responsibility is to ensure the continued operation and management of the agency. Pension Agency of Georgia presented the interim financial statements of the accumulative pension scheme as of June 30, 2022 and 2021, which include: financial statement; Statement of changes in net assets and explanatory notes to financial statements. The presented financial statements are prepared in full compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"): IAS 26 - Accounting and Reporting for Pension Programs. The approved budget of the pension fund for 2022 amounts to 8,115 million GEL, which is financed by the annual service fee of pension assets, within the scope of the powers granted by the law. 65% of the budget is intended for agency management and administrative activities, and 35% for investment activities. This indicates that the management and administrative costs of the agency are presented in a large volume. It is necessary to increase investment assets at the expense of reducing them, which will contribute to the increase in profitability. Thus, it is essential that pension fund accounting reflects the long-term nature of pension liabilities and assets. They need to be reflected in order to assess the pension provision of the participants. Pension liabilities evolve over time, accounting standards use a mixed model approach, and therefore it is necessary to choose a model in which pension assets and pension liabilities are accounted for consistently. For accounting recognition, the plan value of the assets must be reduced to reflect the long-term pension liability. If pension assets are accounted for on the basis of discounted cash flows, this implies that the long-term nature of the investment planned to meet the pension obligation is accounted for in the same systematic manner as pension liabilities.

Digitalised Welfare: Access, Usage, and Outcomes Among Older Adults

The slogan “digital first” has become a buzzword for public organisational development at the local, regional, and national levels in Sweden. The slogan alludes to the idea that providing information to and communication with citizens should take place primarily through digital channels. This idea is also popular in other parts of the digitalised world. Obviously, digital solutions have the potential to become pedagogical, reliable, and effective interfaces for governmental interaction with citizens. However, the extent to which they are actually accessible, brought to use, and valued among older adult users (more than 65 years of age) has not attracted much research interest. Drawing on national survey data, collected in November–December 2020, on Swedish citizens (aged 65 to 90 years), this article will start to compensate for this deficit. First, it analyses the extent to which citizens have physical access to required devices and how access is related to material, discursive, and social resources. Second, it analyses resources and usage of important platforms for public services for older adults: the Pensions Agency, health care, e-pharmacy, the Social Insurance Agency, and the Tax Agency. Finally, the article examines outcomes: feelings and attitudes towards experiences of encountering a digitalising society. The article demonstrates how all three levels of divides—access, usage, and outcomes—are clearly related to older adults’ access to material, discursive, and social resources, as well as to age and pre-retirement experience with computers. It is comparatively younger individuals with longer formal education and at least average incomes and social networks who benefit the most from digitalised public services.

POTENTIAL AND POSSIBLE EFFECT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF GEORGIAN FINANCIAL MARKETS

POTENTIAL AND POSSIBLE EFFECT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF GEORGIAN FINANCIAL MARKETS

Investment Strategy and Financial Performance of Defined Contribution Pension Funds in Kenya

Pension funds are meant to enable pensioners to live quality life upon retirement by paying them retirement benefits. Financial performance of defined contribution pension funds in Kenya has continued to portray unimpressive trend despite positive targets set by the pension funds. Hence, the study examined the effect of investment strategy on financial performance of defined contribution pension funds in Kenya. Systems theory view of pension funds, agency theory, portfolio theory and fisher’s theory of investment guided this study. Secondary data was used in the study. Correlational research design and positivism research philosophy were adopted by this study. The target population comprised of 1172 registered defined contribution pension funds in Kenya as of December 2018. A sample size of 289 defined contribution pension funds were involved in the study and were selected by applying stratified random sampling method. The study established that a positive association exists between investment strategy and financial performance of defined contribution pension funds in Kenya. It concluded that investment strategy explained up to 57.76% of the variations in the return on investment. The regression analysis conducted found a significantly positive association between long term investments and return on investment. Medium term investments was also found to be positively and significantly connected to return on investment. There was also a significantly positive relationship between short term investments and return on investment. Alternative investments was found to be positively and significantly connected to return on investment. The coefficient of determination increased from 57.76% to 65.47% when density of contributions interacted with long term investments, medium term investments, short term investments and alternative investments. The study recommended long term investments as the most ideal investment option for defined contribution pension funds because of its ability to generate the highest return on investment. Medium term investments was recommended as the second best investment option to be embraced by defined contribution pension funds because of its ability to yield good returns as well, second to long term investments. The next investment priority should be given to the alternative investments since it had the third highest regression of coefficients. The least investment option to be undertaken by defined contribution pension funds should be short term investments. Keywords: Long term investments, medium term investments, short term investments, alternative investments, density of contribution, performance, defined contribution pension funds, Kenya.

Effectiveness of medical rehabilitation in persons with back pain – lessons learned from a German cohort study

Purpose Evidence for health-related effects of German medical rehabilitation programs for back pain is inconclusive. This cohort study aimed to examine the effectiveness of medical rehabilitation in residents with back pain (German Clinical Trial Register: DRKS00011554). Material and methods A sample of 45 000 people aged 45–59 years was randomly drawn from two pension agencies. We used propensity score matching to compare persons with back pain who completed a medical rehabilitation program with similar untreated subjects. Questionnaire data were assessed in 2017 and 2019, and linked with administrative data. The primary outcome was pain disability. Results In total, 6610 persons with back pain were considered for matching and we finally compared 200 persons treated in a medical rehabilitation program with 200 untreated subjects. Pain disability was reported more favorable in the control group without medical rehabilitation compared to the intervention group (difference = 4.2; 95% CI −0.8–9.2), as well as other secondary outcomes. Conclusions At first glance, the findings suggest that medical rehabilitation was ineffective in improving health, pain and work ability among employed persons with back pain, but we found plausible explanations indicating that the estimated effects in favor of the untreated subjects are methodologically induced. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Propensity score matching can be used to assess the effects of multimodal interventions in persons with back pain in routine care. Inappropriate recruitment of controls may underestimate treatment effects. When using observational data and propensity score matching to analyze the effectiveness of medical rehabilitation, baseline survey should be conducted directly before the start of rehabilitation to identify comparable controls.

PENSION REFORM - GOALS AND ESTIMATED RESULTS

PENSION REFORM - GOALS AND ESTIMATED RESULTS

Problems and Countermeasures of Medical-Nursing Integrated Services in Chongqing’s Private Pension Agencies: A Qualitative Study

Background: The integration of medical and nursing has been gradually carried out in recent years, but the weak family pension and insufficient community pension at this stage are not enough to support the integration of medical and nursing in China. Therefore, it is of great significance to improve medical-nursing integrated services in pension agencies by investigating their current status. Objective: To explore the main problems of medical-nursing integrated services in private pension agencies through understanding their current situation, and provide countermeasures for optimizing the medical-nursing integrated services. Methods: We selected 6 pension agencies for investigation according to the combination mode of medical and nursing with stratified sampling method, then interviewed 6 managers from 6 private pension agencies with in-depth interview from December 2019 to January 2020, finally analyzed and summarized the interview data with the Colaizzi 7-step analysis method. Results: The main problems of medical-nursing integrated services in private pension agencies are lack of medical service standards, poor integration of medical and nursing, insufficient number and low quality of medical-nursing integrated service team, lack of policy support, single fund-raising channel for pension agencies and heavy financial burden of high service fee for the elderly. Conclusion: The countermeasures to solve the above problems are clarifying the goals of medical services, strengthening the construction of medical-nursing integrated service team, increasing policy support and investment, and accelerating the popularization of the long-term care insurance system.

Legal Means to Prevent Unjustified Payment of Pensions to Citizens Living Abroad

Introduction. The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of paying most types of pensions to those citizens whose place of permanent residence is a foreign state. At the same time, permanent residence of a pensioner abroad increases the risk of unjustified payment of pensions and creates the need to use additional legal means aimed at preventing such consequences. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to describe the system of legal means that are aimed at preventing unjustified payment of Russian pensions to citizens living abroad, and to analyze the provisions of Russian and international legal acts that establish these legal means. Methodology. To achieve these goals, formal legal (dogmatic) method and comparative legal method were mainly used. Results. The system of legal means to prevent unjustified payments to those Russian citizens who permanently reside abroad includes legal means provided for by national legislation and the norms of international treaties concluded by the Russian Federation. The first group is represented mainly by additional obligations of the beneficiary to inform the pension agency about maintaining the grounds for payment of pensions (especially the duty to confirm being alive), failure to which, as a general rule, constitute grounds for the suspension of payment of pension. The legal means stipulated in international legal acts are based on the interaction of the competent institutions of the Contracting parties and are implemented, as a rule, without the participation of the pension recipient. Conclusion. The expansion of the list of States with which Russia has concluded international agreements on cooperation in the field of social security and the improvement of national legislation in this area should help reduce the number of cases of excessive payment of pensions to citizens living abroad.

Determinants of the Wish for Rehabilitation and the Intention to Apply in Persons with Back Pain

Up to now, the main focus of analysis has been on determinants of the application for and utilization of medical rehabilitation due to back pain. The prevalence and determinants of motivational and volitional preceding stages of the application have not yet been well examined. Therefore, this study analyses the prevalence and determinants of the wish for rehabilitation and the intention to apply. Data were derived from the baseline survey of a cohort study including a sample of 45,000 persons randomly drawn from the statutory pension agencies (GPI North and GPI Central Germany). The baseline data of persons aged 45-59 years with back pain within the past 3 months, neither receiving disability pension nor medical rehabilitation during the past 4 years were analysed. Determinants of the wish for rehabilitation and the intention to apply were identified using multivariate logistic regression analyses. 2,348 of the 6,549 persons with back pain (36%) wished to participate in a rehabilitation program. Of these 774 (33%) declared their intention to apply. Both dependent variables were strongly associated with the social support by family and friends. The wish for rehabilitation was also strongly determined by the previous experience with rehabilitation services. Another important determinant of the intention to apply was the support by physicians and therapists. Other factors were found to influence both dependent variables differently. In order to improve the need-based access to rehabilitation, the preceding stages (wish for rehabilitation and intention to apply) and their partly different determinants should be considered. The support by family and friends as well as physicians and therapists are important. This is a further indication that information and the involvement of these actors are key elements to ensure an acquired access to rehabilitation.

LRERNet: Low Resolution Expression Recognition Network

Facial expression recognition (FER) is a meaningful but challenging research direction. An important reason is that the image resolution used for FER is usually low. At present, there is no specially designed model for the challenge of low resolution FER. We propose a low resolution expression recognition network with front and back end structure using specially designed dilated convolution groups. In addition, for the need of pension agency, we establish a dataset for studying FER of the old in Asian countries and we named it AOPFE. We evaluate our method on three standard datasets (RAF, SFEW and CK+) and AOPFE. In our experiments, the method achieved good results in these datasets especially on RAF dataset.

확정급여형 퇴직연금의 적립과 대리인문제 : 좋은 지배구조는 적립비율을 높이는가?

확정급여형 퇴직연금의 적립과 대리인문제 : 좋은 지배구조는 적립비율을 높이는가?

Increasing the take-up of the housing allowance among Swedish pensioners: a field experiment

Using a randomized field experiment in the Swedish pension system, we investigate whether receiving an information letter affects the take-up rate of the housing allowance for pensioners. We also investigate whether the framing of the information letter affects take-up. The results show that simple information letters had a significant effect on the application rate and subsequent take-up rate: The baseline application rate in the targeted control population was only 1.4%, while the corresponding rates in the different treatment groups were between 9.9 and 12.1%. However, while the applications in the control group were accepted in almost 3 out of 4 cases, up to 50% of the applications in the treatment group were declined. The lower conditional acceptance rate in the treatment group seems to be largely driven by wealth, which the Pensions Agency cannot observe prior to submission. Information campaigns aimed at increasing benefit take-up therefore need careful design in situations with imperfect targeting.

The influence of using smart products and having hobbies on the cognitive function among the elderly living in a nursing home

Objective To explore the effect of using smart products (including smart phones, computers and other electronic products), as well as having hobbies on their cognitive function in pension agency elderly people, and analyze if there is certain protective effect on cognitive function by using smart products and having hobbies. So as to reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment in the future. Methods By convenience sampling, 160 residents living in the nursing home of suzhou city (mean age 60 or higher) were selected, and demographic data were collected by using a homemade questionnaire, their cognitive function was investigated by using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale. Results Single factor analysis showed that the score of the elderly who often use smart products in every cognitive field and overall cognitive function were superior to those who could not use smart products, the difference was statistically significant (t=-4.47--2.15, all P < 0.05). The scores of the elderly with hobbies were higher in the overall cognitive function and the other six areas except the orientation, than those who had no hobby, and the differences were statistically significant (t=-6.80--1.81, all P < 0.05). After adjusting for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), cultural level, often using smart products in total cognitive function in the elderly (t=4.842, P < 0.01) and executive function (t=4.008, P < 0.01), attention (t=3.045, P = 0.003), abstract (t=2.135, P = 0.034), delayed recall (t=3.759, P < 0.01), the directional (t=2.866, P = 0.005) of the five areas showed significant correlation. The total cognitive function of the elderly with hobbies (t=3.496, P = 0.001) and the visual spatial execution function (t=3.316, P = 0.001), naming (t=3.241, P = 0.001), abstract (t=2.643, P = 0.009), and delayed recall (t=2.073, P= 0.04) were all significantly correlated. Conclusions Often using smart products and having certain hobbies are protective factors of cognitive function, build corresponding intervention plans for the future, by cultivating the elderly hobby, guiding the elderly using intelligent products and other measures to achieve successful aging, slow the cognitive decline, thus reducing the risk of mild cognitive impairment. Key words: Nursing home; Aged; Smart product; Hobby; Cognitive function

Impact of improved recording of work-relatedness in primary care visits at occupational health services on sickness absences: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BackgroundEmployment protects and fosters health. Occupational health services, particularly in Finland, have a central role in protecting employee health and preventing work ability problems. However, primary care within occupational health services is currently underused in informing preventive activities. This study was designed to assess whether the recording of work ability problems and improvement of follow-up of work-related primary care visits can reduce sickness absences and work disability pensions after 1 year.Methods/designA pragmatic trial will be conducted using patient electronic registers and registers of the central pensions agency in Finland. Twenty-two occupational health centres will be randomised to intervention and control groups. Intervention units will receive training to improve recording of work ability illnesses in the primary care setting and improved follow-up procedures. The intervention impact will be assessed through examining rates of sickness absence across intervention and control clinics as well as before and after the intervention.DiscussionThe trial will develop knowledge of the intervention potential of primary care for preventing work disability pensions and sickness absence. The use of routine patient registers and pensions registers to assess the outcomes of a randomised controlled trial will bring forward trial methodology, particularly when using register-based data. If successful, the intervention will improve the quality of occupational health care primary care and contribute to reducing work disability.Trial registrationISRCTN Registry reference number ISRCTN45728263. Registered on 18 April 2016.

The relationship between psychiatric symptoms and burden of caregivers in senile dementia patients

Objective To investigate the occurrence and severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia(BPSD)in elderly dementia patients, and to explore the relationship of the degree of dementia and the severity of BPSD with the burden of caregivers in pension agency. Methods Using a convenient sampling method, the Clinical Dementia Rating(CDR)scale, neuropsychiatric scale(NPI)and Zarit caregiver burden scale(ZBI)were used to evaluate 145 patients with Alzheimer's disease and caregiver burden in Hangzhou. Results The incidence rate of BPSD was 51.8%(72 cases), with a higher incidence rate of delusions of 22.3%(31 cases), a higher severity of sleep disorder/nocturnal behavior〔NPI symptom score(5.95±4.60)points〕. The symptom making a greatest burden on the caregivers was delusion〔ZBI score(32.81±17.66)points〕. There were positively correlations of the burden of caregivers with the degree of dementia and the severity of BPSD(r=0.434, 0.710, all P<0.01)in patients with senile dementia. Conclusions The incidence rate of BPSD in dementia patients is higher, and the occurrence of BPSD is associated with the severity of mini-mental state examination(MMSE)and dementia, which increases the burden of caregivers.More attention should be paid to BPSD in patients with senile dementia.And the social support system serving patients with senile dementia and their caregivers should be further improved. Key words: Dementia; Behavioral symptoms; Mental disorders

养老机构延续护理改善慢阻肺患者生存质量的研究进展

本文通过延续护理进展的概况阐述定义，模式，人员组成，延续护理知识的培训，分析慢阻肺生存质量的影响因素。养老机构延续护理通过生活护理支持、心理干预、肺康复治疗包括呼吸肌训练、营养支持、氧疗、药物治疗、有氧缓慢锻炼、加强对患者的健康指导、做好呼吸康复训练的自我管理，改善COPD患者生存质量。养老机构建立医护一体化的延续护理团队，体现治疗–康复–长期护理服务重要性。需借鉴国内外先进经验，制订出规范化、系统化、科学化的延续护理程序，建立健全延续护理效果评价指标。从客观上全面反映延续护理实施的有效性，是今后研究的方向。 This paper describes the definition, model, composition of personnel, continuing the training of nursing knowledge, and analyzes the influencing factors of the quality of life of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Through life nursing support, psychological intervention and lung rehabilitation treatment including respiratory muscle training, nutritional support, oxygen therapy, medication, aerobic slow exercise, pension agencies strengthen the health guidance for patients, improve the self-management of respiratory rehabilitation training, and improve the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Pension agencies establish the continuous care team of medical care integration, reflecting the importance of treatment-rehabilitation-long- term care service. We should draw lessons from the advanced experience at home and abroad, develop standardized, systematic and scientific continuation nursing procedures, establish and improve the evaluation index of continuing nursing effect. Comprehensively reflecting the effectiveness of continuing nursing implementation is the future research direction.