China plans to gradually raise its statutory retirement age over the next five years to address its aging population and strained pension system. Life expectancy in China has increased to 78 years, surpassing that of the United States, from just 36 years at the time of the Communist revolution in 1949. Despite this, China still has one of the lowest retirement ages globally: 60 for men, 55 for women in white-collar jobs, and 50 for working-class women.
This plan to increase retirement ages was part of a series of resolutions adopted at last week’s five-yearly top-level Communist party meeting, known as the Third Plenum. The party’s central committee stated in a key policy document that, “In line with the principle of voluntary participation with appropriate flexibility, we will advance reform to gradually raise the statutory retirement age in a prudent and orderly manner.”
While the specifics of how much the retirement age will be raised and by when were not disclosed, a China Pension Development Report released at the end of 2023 suggested that “65 years old may be the final result after adjustment.” This plan has been considered for several years as China’s pension budget continues to dwindle. In 2019, the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences predicted that the country’s main state pension fund would run out of money by 2035, a projection made before the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Simultaneously, China’s population has declined for the second consecutive year in 2023 due to a falling birth rate. The state-run newspaper quoted Chinese demographers stating that the plan to raise the retirement age emphasizes “voluntariness” and “flexibility,” recognizing that a one-size-fits-all policy is not feasible.
However, the plan has faced some skepticism on Chinese social media. On Weibo, a platform similar to X, one user commented, “Those who wish to retire early are burnt out from their laborious jobs, but those in comfortable, lucrative roles will not choose to retire. What kind of jobs will the younger generation end up with?” Another user expressed concern that delayed retirement would mean delayed access to pensions, noting, “There is no guarantee that you would still have a job before the statutory retirement age.”
