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Reuters

A decision by the Communist Party to raise the retirement age under a long-term economic and development plan has sparked anger on social media in fast-greying China.
In 2018, nearly 250 million of China’s 1.4 billion people were aged 60 or over. That is 17.8 per cent of the population and it may exceed 33 per cent by 2053, a prominent think tank has said.
Authorities will “implement postponing the retirement age in a gradual manner”, Xinhua said in a report this month, citing government targets by 2035.


No specifics were given but the report has caused a stir.
“Delaying retirement means we have to postpone our pension,” one user on the Weibo platform wrote on Friday.
For more than four decades, China’s retirement age has remained unchanged at 60 for men and 55 for female civil servants and white-collar workers.
What is China’s 2020 population census, and why is it important?
Authorities have yet to raise the retirement age, although a suggestion to do so in 2013 provoked strong public opposition.
“Delaying retirement, which has no rationality or necessity, is out of ideological considerations that only when the interests and health of the people are sacrificed can there be economic development,” another social media user said.
China faces what experts call a “demographic time bomb” as its elderly population increases while the workforce gets smaller, partly because of a one-child policy in place for about four decades until it was scrapped in 2016.
“Postponing retirement is an inevitable trend,” the state-run Securities Times  wrote in a commentary on Friday.
“If you travel abroad, you’ll find that people over 60 are still working, and that’s normal.”


China’s retirement age is lower than in many other countries. In Japan, it’s 65. Former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s government said last year it was considering raising it to 70 or even 75.
World population growth set to fall by 2100, as new powers emerge
In South Korea, where 25 per cent of the population may be 65 or older by 2030, workers retire at around 68 for men and 67 for women.
China’s ageing population will also put huge pressure on its pension system. An official research report showed China’s total pension pot could be “insolvent” as early as 2035. ﻿


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China society

China’s Communist Party meets worker anger with plan to raise retirement age for greying population

Workers in China may have to wait longer to retire, according to a plan by the Communist Party. Even though no details or dates for raising the retirement age were specified, workers have been vocal on social media. Photo: Reuters

China’s ageing population prompts plan to deal with looming silver shock

Beijing has called for an active response to China’s looming demographic crisis, with one third of its population estimated to be over 60 by 2050. Photo: AFP

epa07959242 Chinese retirees practice Taichi in Taikang Yanyuan retirement community in Changping district, in the suburbs of northwest Beijing, China, 18 June 2019 (issued 30 October 2019). A rapidly aging population in China, where one in three of its 1.4 billion people will be over the age of 60 by 2050, has resulted in its affluent elderly elites looking to retire in luxury at high-end retirement homes. Taikang Yanyuan is a one such community catering to China's wealthiest senior citizens. Run by Taikang Life Insurance Co., the complex comprises of an on-site hospital, clubhouse decorated with artworks by Israeli artist David Gerstein, resort-like facilities with swimming pools and gyms, professional on-call staff and buffet or catered dining. Residents spend their time playing mahjong and card games while attending a variety of singing, ballet, taichi, history and calligraphy lessons that are often taught by fellow residents, many of whom are top academics, professionals, artists,

China’s state pension plan needs retooling as slowdown, ageing population hit retirement pot

A staff member plays a game with a senior citizen at an elderly service centre in Binzhou in eastern Shandong province. China’s ageing population will place the retirement support system on the shoulder of the younger generation. Photo: Xinhua

China should simply adapt to fewer births and an ageing society

Illustration: Timothy Mcevenue. See: www.timothymcevenue.net

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(FILES) This files picture taken on July 12, 2018 shows a girl pushing a baby carriage featuring the colours and design of the US flag while crossing a street in Beijing. - China's population shrank last year for the first time in recent decades, researchers said January 2019, warning that this signals a "demographic crisis" that puts pressure on the country's slowing economy. (Photo by WANG ZHAO / AFP)

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China

People & Culture


Proportion of people in China aged over 60 may exceed 33 per cent by 2053
The retirement age has not changed for more than four decades and is lower than in many other countries



The retirement age has not changed for more than four decades and is lower than in many other countries.


China's ageing population

Ageing society

China’s Communist Party meets worker anger with plan to raise retirement age for greying population

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Proportion of people in China aged over 60 may exceed 33 per cent by 2053 The retirement age has not changed for more than four decades and is lower than in many other countries

Proportion of people in China aged over 60 may exceed 33 per cent by 2053

The retirement age has not changed for more than four decades and is lower than in many other countries