HONG KONG: China’s top legislative body has approved a proposal to raise the country’s retirement age, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday, accelerating an overhaul of decades-old laws to tackle the economic pressure of a shrinking workforce.
China’s retirement ages are currently amongst the lowest globally.
Reform is urgent with life expectancy in China having risen to 78 years as of 2021 from about 44 years in 1960 and projected to exceed 80 years by 2050. At the same time, the working population needed to support the elderly is shrinking.
The retirement age will be raised for men to 63 years old from 60, while for women in white collar work it would be raised to 58 years from 55. For women in blue collar work it will be increased to 55 from 50.
The changes are set to come into force on Jan. 1, 2025 and be implemented over a 15 year period.
Having people work for longer would ease pressure on pension budgets with many Chinese provinces already reeling from large deficits. But delaying pension payouts and requiring older workers to stay at their jobs longer may not be welcomed by all of them.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to social media after Xinhua reported that China’s top lawmakers discussed the topic on Sept. 10, with many expressing concern there would be more job seekers chasing too few openings.
Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada , alongside cast and crew, winners of Outstanding Drama Series for "Shogun" pose in...
Representational image shows Afghan women chanting slogans in protest against the closure of universities to women by...
A picture shows one of the cranes at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland on August 5, 2019....
This aerial photograph taken on July 8, 2024 shows lakes of melted water in the Tian Shan mountain range. —...
Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire burns at Ribeira de Fraguas, Albergaria-a-Velha in Aveiro on September 16,...
A balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea, carrying various objects including what appeared to be trash and...