News Mania Desk/ Piyal Chatterjee / 11th September 2024
An official plan to raise China’s retirement age—which is already among the lowest in the world—was evaluated this week by the country’s top legislative body, marking a significant step toward the revision of long-standing labor rules and the reduction of economic pressures brought on by a declining labor force.
In July, China’s ruling Communist Party announced that the retirement age would be raised gradually. Men’s retirement age is currently 60, which is roughly six years younger than in most industrialized nations. For women in white-collar jobs, it is 55, and for those in manufacturing, it is 50.
Longer work hours would relieve some of the strain on pension funds, as many Chinese provinces are already suffering from significant deficits; but, this would also cause pension payments to be delayed and older workers to remain employed.
Following reports from the official Xinhua news agency that prominent members of the National People Congress had discussed the subject in Beijing on Tuesday, many of them expressed concerns about an excess of job searchers chasing an inadequate number of jobs, the topic quickly became popular on Chinese social media.
China’s life expectancy increased from roughly 44 years in 1960 to 78 years in 2021, and it is expected to surpass 80 years by 2050, making reform imperative. The working population required to care for the elderly is also declining at the same time.
In the upcoming weeks, draft legislation to raise the retirement age is anticipated to be released for public comment.
Concerned about the elderly working longer due to delayed pension payments and the rising unemployment for youth, over 100,000 people reacted on Xinhua’s post on the social media platform Weibo.
“Young people cannot find jobs, middle aged people are worried about being laid off and now there is another problem: the elderly cant retire,” stated a Weibo user.
