For the first time since the 1950s, China will “gradually raise” the retirement age in response to the country’s aging population and shrinking pension fund.
Proposals to increase the compulsory retirement age for women in blue-collar work from 50 to 55 and for females in white-collar jobs from 55 to 58 were adopted by the upper house of parliament on Friday.
The number of men will rise from 60 to 63.
China currently has some of the lowest retirement ages globally.
The plan approved on Friday states that the changes will take effect on January 1, 2025, and that for the next 15 years, the corresponding retirement ages would be adjusted every few months, according to Chinese official media.
State news agency: You will not be permitted to retire before the required age, although people can delay their retirement by no more than three years.
Starting 2030, employees will also have to make more contributions to the social security system in order to receive pensions. By 2039, they would have to clock 20 years of contributions to access their pensions.
The primary state pension fund in the nation will run out of money by 2035, according to a 2019 projection by the state-sponsored Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. This prediction was made before to the Covid-19 outbreak, which severely damaged China’s economy.
“A comprehensive assessment of the average life expectancy, health conditions, the population structure, the level of education and workforce supply in China,” according to Xinhua, served as the foundation for the proposal to raise retirement ages and modify the pension policy.
However, on the Chinese internet, the announcement has caused some skepticism and unhappiness.
On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, a person posted, “In the next 10 years, there will be another bill that will delay retirement until we are 80.”
What a wretched year! Workers in their middle years faced with pay cuts and raised retirement ages. Those who are unemployed find it increasingly difficult to get jobs,” another chimed in.
Others said they had anticipated the announcement.
“This was expected, there isn’t much to discuss.
China’s population is falling for a second consecutive year in 2023 due to a declining birth rate and a slowing economy. The World Health Organization predicts that 402 million people will be over 60 by 2040, a rise from 254 million in 2019. The country’s pension pot is running dry, and 300 million people aged 50-60 are set to leave the workforce over the next decade.
(BBC)
