September 23, 2023. Shanghai – The CEIBS International Summit on Social Security and Aging Finance was successfully held at the school’s Shanghai campus today, with numerous distinguished speakers and experts in the field invited to participate under the theme of “Global Perspective and the Chinese Approach: Sustainable Development of China’s Unique Social Security System.”

An aging population is a challenge not only for China, but for the whole world. By the middle of this century, the number of people aged 65 and above is expected to double to more than 1.6 billion, while the population aged 80 and above is growing at an even faster rate. The 15 countries with the largest total global GDP all have fertility rates below the standard replacement rate of 2.1. However, only one-third of the world's countries (28% of the global population) have established a social protection system that covers all the subsections of social security.

The CEIBS Social Security and Aging Finance Institute aims to stand at the forefront of China’s continued efforts to build a social security system that can effectively deal with the challenges of an aging population and declining workforce.

During a welcome address, CEIBS President and Chair of the Academic Committee of CEIBS Social Security and Aging Finance Institute, and Director of the Shanghai Social Security Research Centre Wang Hong highlighted that CEIBS established the institute in 2022 to bring together authoritative experts in the social security sector, national policy-making departments, international high-end think tanks and universities, pension finance entrepreneurs, and other research forces to build an academic network and exchange platform for social security research at home and abroad.

In his following opening remarks, Director of the Counsellor’s Office of Shanghai Municipal Government Mo Fuchun stressed the importance of a fully developed multilevel social security system for sustainable economic development.

In a speech under the theme of “Building an Effective Elderly Care System: A Global Perspective”, CEIBS Professor of Marketing and Co-chair of the Academic Committee of the CEIBS Social Security and Aging Finance Institute Dipak Jain emphasised the importance of both “healthcare and wealthcare”, highlighting the role of educating people on finance management in ensuring not just longer life, but a higher quality of life.

“Ensuring quality of life is our social and moral responsibility,” Jain said, expressing the conviction that “respect for elders will be the long-lasting legacy of CEIBS' research.”

Throughout the event, the assembled experts shared their unique ideas and forward-thinking approaches to better dealing with the issue of an aging population.

Ning Guang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, advocated for “total life cycle management,” improving important aspects of lifestyle such as diet throughout the whole life of every individual in order to improve their health and quality of life in old age.

Senior Professor at Fudan University and Director of Fudan Institute on Aging Peng Xizhe, meanwhile, noted that a declining population does not necessarily have to lead to negative effects on economic growth if policy-makers instead focus on improving the quality of the workforce. Arguing for “flexible reemployment,” Prof. Peng noted that “retirement should be a personal choice and depend on demand in the market for a given individual.”

Continuing the theme of retirement in an era of population decline, Vice President of the China Social Security Association and Director of the Social Security Research Centre at Nanjing University Lin Mingang pointed out that working after retirement does not have to simply be about generating income, but can be about better life balance, expressing the belief that “multi-stage employment, lifelong learning, and living with chronic diseases will be the three “new normals” of the future.”

In addition to 10 keynote speeches, the summit also featured the launch ceremony of the Shanghai Social Security Reform and Development Green Book 2023, as well as the release of current research findings from the CEIBS Social Security and Aging Finance Institute.

The event concluded with a roundtable discussion featuring Professor of Finance and Accounting Oliver Rui and five other experts in the field of aging finance and social security on the theme of “Actively Addressing an Aging Population and Promoting the Sustainable Development of Pension Finance.”