Abstract Using the provincial panel data of urban household survey (1995-2016), this paper conducts an empirical study of the effects of population aging and old-age insurance on the saving rates of urban residents; how the dependency of aged people on pensions influences these effects is also discussed. The results show that when the elderly rely more on pensions, the negative effect of old dependency ratio on saving rates becomes stronger. When there are less elderly people who rely on pensions, the negative correlation between pensions and the saving rates is more significant and reducing the burden of old-age insurance contribution can help decrease the saving rates. As the elderly rely more on pensions, the effect of increased contributors (workers and employees) of the old-age insurance on saving rates turns from negative to positive. Therefore, to reduce the saving rates, it is necessary to continue increasing the number of workers and employees contributed to the old-age insurance as well as the pension income and reducing the old-age insurance contribution, especially in the areas where the elderly rely less on pensions. In addition, it is also helpful to exploit Chinese grey market when the elderly rely more on pensions.
2020, Vol. 37 
