BEIJING — Starting next year, China will raise its retirement age for employees, which is now amongst the youngest in the world’s significant economies, in an effort to address its diminishing population and aging work force.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the nation’s legislature, passed the brand-new policy Friday after a abrupt statement earlier in the week that it was evaluating the procedure, state broadcaster CCTV revealed.
The policy modification will be brought out over 15 years, with the retirement age for guys raised to 63 years, and for females to 55 or 58 years depending on their tasks. The existing retirement age is 60 for males and 50 for females in blue-collar tasks and 55 for females doing white-collar work.
“We have more individuals coming into the retirement age, and so the pension fund is (facing) high pressure. That’s why I believe it’s now time to act seriously,” stated Xiujian Peng, a senior researchstudy fellow at Victoria University in Australia who researchstudies China’s population and its ties to the economy.
The previous retirement ages were set in the 1950’s, when life span was just around 40 years, Peng stated.
The policy will be executed beginning in January, according to the statement from China’s legislature. The modification will take impact gradually based on individuals’s birthdates.
For example, a male born in January 1971 might retire at the age of 61 years and 7 months in August 2032, according to a chart launched along with the policy. A guy born in May 1971 might retire at the age of 61 years and 8 months in January 2033.
Demographic pressures made the relocation long pastdue, professionals state. By the end of 2023, China counted almost 300 million individuals over the age of60 By 2035, that figure is forecasted to be 400 million, bigger than the population of the U.S. The Chine