The hike of up to five years is reportedly aimed at addressing the pressure from the country’s aging population
China has raised its retirement age, with the new policy aiming to address the challenges of an aging population. The country’s current retirement ages are among the lowest globally.
The new policy was approved by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Friday. The change, which will be implemented over 15 years starting in January, will raise the retirement age for men from 60 to 63. Female office workers will see their retirement age increase from 55 to 58, while female blue-collar workers, who previously retired at 50, will now have to wait until 55.
The increase is intended to “adapt to the new situation of demographic development in China, and fully developing and utilizing human resources,” according to the committee.
According to Reuters, China’s minister of human resources and social security, Wang Xiaoping, said on Friday that the change would be implemented on a flexible and voluntary basis, noting that employees will have the option of retiring earlier or extending retirement for up to three years.
This is the first adjustment to the retirement age in China since 1978. It is based on the increased average life expectancy, extended years of schooling, the current population structure, and improved healthcare conditions, the committee said.
Life expectancy in China has risen to 78 as of 2023, up from about 44 in 1960. It is projected to exceed 80 by 2050.
Policymakers have been considering changing the retirement age for a long time, but previous attempts faced public opposition.
The move is expected to help the economy by mitigating the impact of a shrinking workforce. Official statistics show the number of working-age people (between 16 and 59) in the country decreased by 40 million in just over a decade, to 879 million in 2020.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences has reportedly warned that the country’s pension system could run out of money by 2035. Raising the retirement age could alleviate some of that pressure by delaying payouts, some media reports claimed.
“This is happening everywhere,” Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, told AP. “But in China with its large elderly population, the challenge is much larger,” he stressed.