Why Is Universal Retirement Protection Called Intergenerational Redistribution?

What did the March 2011 march argue?

On 16 March 2011, a hundred people marched for universal retirement protection; commentators explained it as intergenerational income redistribution — today’s workers’ income supporting already-retired elderly. It targets all elderly, funded by all workers’ contributions — unlike tax-funded aid for the needy: your contributions aren’t for yourself but for the previous generation, expecting the next to support you.

Why have other countries watered it down?

Workers come to see contributions as just another tax; with shrinking workforces and growing retiree rolls, contributions must rise or retirement ages go up — so many countries cut benefits to symbolic levels. Noble in sentiment, brutal in fiscal reality.

What about Hong Kong?

Supporters say MPF fails; opponents say tax-and-contribution hikes lack consensus. Rather than wait, workers should tend their own accounts — start at MPF fund comparison.