China will gradually raise its retirement age starting from January 1, 2025. This is the first time the country has increased the retirement age since the 1950s. The retirement age for women in blue-collar jobs will increase from 50 to 55.
“The retirement age postponement is long-delayed as Beijing was concerned about political backlash,” said Yi Fuxian. “Now the worsening demographic challenges have made pension shortage more prominent. The Chinese government has been left with no choice.”https://t.co/l8hY0cqJ0S
— 易富贤Yi Fuxian《大国空巢》 (@fuxianyi) September 15, 2024
For women in white-collar jobs, it will rise from 55 to 58. Men will see their retirement age go up from 60 to 63. The changes will happen slowly over the next 15 years.
The Wall Street Journal published an interview with me on China's postponement of retirement age https://t.co/nwZV5fhPcm Some Beijing critics called the gradual implementation too slow. “This pace is no different from kicking a political time bomb to future generations,” said Yi…
— 易富贤Yi Fuxian《大国空巢》 (@fuxianyi) September 13, 2024
The retirement age will increase by a few months at a time. People will not be allowed to retire before the new retirement ages. However, they can choose to delay their retirement by up to three years.
"The retirement age for men will rise from 60 to 63 and for female office workers from 55 to 58 (…) The biggest increase affects female blue-collar workers, who could previously retire aged 50 but will now have to wait until they reach the age of 55." https://t.co/a7ukPhYuul
— Jojje Olsson (@jojjeols) September 13, 2024
“To bolster China’s pension system, Beijing moves to raise the retirement age for men to 63 from 60, and for some women to 55 from 50.” https://t.co/96clYoARIG
— Dori Toribio (@DoriToribio) September 13, 2024
Gradually increasing pension eligibility
Starting in 2030, workers will have to pay into the social security system for a longer time to receive their pensions. By 2039, they will need to have made contributions for 20 years to access their pensions.
China is facing an aging population and a shrinking pension budget. The government says the changes are necessary based on factors like life expectancy, health, population structure, education levels, and the available workforce. Some people in China are unhappy about the announcement.
They worry about the impact on middle-aged workers and the difficulty of finding jobs. Others say they expected the changes, as many countries have higher retirement ages. China’s population has fallen for the second year in a row.
By 2040, about one-third of the population will be over 60 years old. The country is running out of time to build up its pension fund to support the growing number of elderly people.
- SCMP.”China’s pension reform a ‘milestone’, but will it fix funding woes?”.
- Fortune.”Chinese grumble about Beijing’s decision to hike the retirement age: ‘I’ll just have to bear the three extra years of work'”.
- BBC.”China to raise retirement age for first time since 1950s”.