China raises retirement age as population ages

BEIJING: China announced that it will raise its retirement age starting next year to tackle the issue of a declining population and an increasingly older workforce.

The new regulation was approved by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. It will be implemented gradually over a 15-year period, setting the retirement age at 63 for men and between 55 and 58 for women, depending on their job type.

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Currently, men retire at 60, while women in whiter-collar positions retire at 55 and those in blue-collar jobs at 50.

The policy is scheduled to commence in January 2025, with the age adjustment based on a person’s birth year. For example, a man born in January 1971 would be eligible to retire at 61 years and 7 months in august 2032.

Meanwhile, experts stated that this change will relieve the mounting pressure on China’s pension system, what has become increasingly strained as the population ages.

By the end of 2023, almost 300 million people in china were over 60 years old, with projections indicating the number will rise to 400 million by 2035.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences cautioned that the public pension fund any run out of resorcies  by that time.

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The situation is further complicate by falling birthrates, with China’s population decreasing by 2 million by 2023, following a drop of 850,000 in 2022.

The adjustment to the retirement age spared varied responses from the public. Some people view it favourably, pointing out that most developed countries have higher retirement age.

Meanwhile, others expressed disappointing or annoyance even, as it disrupts the plans of retirement many have envisioned.

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The policy change reflects broader demographic trends and aims to ensure a viable pension system. As the dependency ratio-the proportion of retires to working-age youth-continues to increase, the responsibility of supporting the elderly will fall increasingly on a smaller workforce.