Current:Home > MyChina is raising its retirement age, now among the youngest in the world’s major economies-InfoLens
China is raising its retirement age, now among the youngest in the world’s major economies
View Date:2024-12-23 15:44:59
BEIJING (AP) — Starting next year, China will raise its retirement age for workers, which is now among the youngest in the world’s major economies, in an effort to address its shrinking population and aging work force.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature, passed the new policy Friday after a sudden announcement earlier in the week that it was reviewing the measure, state broadcaster CCTV announced.
The policy change will be carried out over 15 years, with the retirement age for men raised to 63 years, and for women to 55 or 58 years depending on their jobs. The current retirement age is 60 for men and 50 for women in blue-collar jobs and 55 for women doing white-collar work.
“We have more people coming into the retirement age, and so the pension fund is (facing) high pressure. That’s why I think it’s now time to act seriously,” said Xiujian Peng, a senior research fellow at Victoria University in Australia who studies China’s population and its ties to the economy.
The previous retirement ages were set in the 1950’s, when life expectancy was only around 40 years, Peng said.
The policy will be implemented starting in January, according to the announcement from China’s legislature. The change will take effect progressively based on people’s birthdates.
For example, a man born in January 1971 could retire at the age of 61 years and 7 months in August 2032, according to a chart released along with the policy. A man born in May 1971 could retire at the age of 61 years and 8 months in January 2033.
Demographic pressures made the move long overdue, experts say. By the end of 2023, China counted nearly 300 million people over the age of 60. By 2035, that figure is projected to be 400 million, larger than the population of the U.S. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences had previously projected that the public pension fund will run out of money by that year.
Pressure on social benefits such as pensions and social security is hardly a China-specific problem. The U.S. also faces the issue as analysis shows that currently, the Social Security fund won’t be able to pay out full benefits to people by 2033.
“This is happening everywhere,” said Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. “But in China with its large elderly population, the challenge is much larger.”
That is on top of fewer births, as younger people opt out of having children, citing high costs. In 2022, China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported that for the first time the country had 850,000 fewer people at the end of the year than the previous year , a turning point from population growth to decline. In 2023, the population shrank further, by 2 million people.
What that means is that the burden of funding elderly people’s pensions will be divided among a smaller group of younger workers, as pension payments are largely funded by deductions from people who are currently working.
Researchers measure that pressure by looking at a number called the dependency ratio, which counts the number of people over the age of 65 compared to the number of workers under 65. That number was 21.8% in 2022, according to government statistics, meaning that roughly five workers would support one retiree. The percentage is expected to rise, meaning fewer workers will be shouldering the burden of one retiree.
The necessary course correction will cause short-term pain, experts say, coming at a time of already high youth unemployment and a soft economy.
A 52-year-old Beijing resident, who gave his family name as Lu and will now retire at age 61 instead of 60, was positive about the change. “I view this as a good thing, because our society’s getting older, and in developed countries, the retirement age is higher,” he said.
Li Bin, 35, who works in the event planning industry, said she was a bit sad.
“It’s three years less of play time. I had originally planned to travel around after retirement,” she said. But she said it was better than expected because the retirement age was only raised three years for women in white-collar jobs.
Some of the comments on social media when the policy review was announced earlier in the week reflected anxiety.
But of the 13,000 comments on the Xinhua news post announcing the news, only a few dozen were visible, suggesting that many others had been censored.
—-
Wu reported from Bangkok. Video producer Caroline Chen in Beijing contributed to this report.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Sydney Sweeney Slams Women Empowerment in the Industry as Being Fake
- Iowa man found not guilty of first-degree murder in infant son’s death
- After off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot is accused of crash attempt, an air safety expert weighs in on how airlines screen their pilots
- 'Bold and brazen' scammers pose as clergy, target immigrants in California, officials warn
- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson weighs in on report that he would 'pee in a bottle' on set
- Wisconsin wildlife officials to vote new on wolf management plan with no population goal
- Belgian police are looking for a Palestinian man following media report he could plan an attack
- Deion Sanders, bearded and rested after bye, weighs in on Michigan, 'Saturday Night Live'
- Taylor Swift Becomes Auntie Tay In Sweet Photo With Fellow Chiefs WAG Chariah Gordon's Daughter
- Slovakia swears in a new Cabinet led by a populist ex-premier who opposes support for Ukraine
Ranking
- Louisiana asks court to block part of ruling against Ten Commandments in classrooms
- Bulgaria is launching the construction of 2 US-designed nuclear reactors
- Bulgaria is launching the construction of 2 US-designed nuclear reactors
- Tom Bergeron will 'never' return to 'DWTS' after 'betrayal' of casting Sean Spicer
- Today Reveals Hoda Kotb's Replacement
- British leader Rishi Sunak marks a year in office with little to celebrate
- Why Cruise driverless cars were just suspended by the California DMV
- Virginia woman wins Powerball's third-prize from $1.55 billon jackpot
Recommendation
-
FC Cincinnati player Marco Angulo dies at 22 after injuries from October crash
-
A second Baltimore firefighter has died after battling rowhouse fire
-
TikToker Sofia Hart Details Rare Heart Condition That's Left Her With No Pulse
-
‘I wanted to scream': Growing conflict in Congo drives sexual assault against displaced women
-
What that 'Disclaimer' twist says about the misogyny in all of us
-
Drugstore closures create pharmacy deserts in underserved communities
-
Bulgaria is launching the construction of 2 US-designed nuclear reactors
-
Wayfair Way Day 2023: The Biggest Sale of the Year is Back With Up to 80% Off Furniture, Decor & More