China raises retirement age: For the first time since the 1950s, the retirement age of professionals and workers in China is going to increase. The Chinese government has approved this proposal on Friday, September 13. The government has said that it will gradually increase the retirement age.
The government has said that under the mandatory retirement age, the retirement age of women doing hard jobs (blue-collar jobs) will be increased from 50 to 55 years. Whereas for professional (white-collar jobs) women, it will be increased from 55 to 58. The retirement age of men will be increased from 60 to 63.
China’s retirement age is the lowest in the world
According to China’s official news agency Xinhua, retirement before the legal retirement age will not be allowed. It is worth noting that China’s current retirement age is one of the lowest in the world. According to the proposal passed by the Chinese government, this change will come into effect from January 1, 2025. In the next 15 years, the retirement age will be increased further after every few months’ grace period.
Why did you have to take this decision?
The Chinese government had to take this decision because of its aging population. That is, there is a lack of youth in the country, due to which the retirement age of workers and professionals will be increased. People are reacting to this on China’s social media Weibo. A user wrote, “A resolution will be passed again in the next ten years and then we will be told that until we are 80 years old, we have no right to retire.”
According to news agency Xinhua, the plan to raise the retirement age and adjust pension policy was based on a “comprehensive assessment of average life expectancy, health conditions, population structure, education levels and workforce supply in China”.
Chinese government unable to pay pension?
On behalf of the government, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in 2019 that the country’s main state pension fund would be exhausted by 2035. In 2019, China’s economy collapsed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In such a situation, the government’s financial capacity to pay pension after retirement is not the same as before. Increasing the retirement age will reduce the burden on the government treasury.
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