Male 60 years → 63 years
Female 50·55 years → 55·58 years
China has decided to gradually raise the statutory retirement age starting next year in preparation for an aging population.
According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 13th, the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) passed the retirement age extension plan through a vote at the closing session of its 11th meeting. Currently, China's retirement age is among the lowest in the world, having been maintained for about 70 years at 60 for men, 55 for female white-collar workers, and 50 for female blue-collar workers.
With the passage of this retirement age extension plan, the statutory retirement age for male workers will be gradually extended from 60 to 63 over 15 years starting January 1 of next year. For female workers, the retirement age will increase from 50 and 55 to 55 and 58, respectively.
China's move to extend the retirement age is seen as advantageous in terms of pension finances and securing labor amid a sharp decline in birth rates and accelerating population aging. It is projected that by 2035, the population aged 60 and over in China will exceed 400 million, accounting for more than 30% of the total population. Advances in science and technology and changes in the economic structure, which have significantly reduced physical labor and increased knowledge- and technology-based jobs, are also cited as reasons behind the push to extend the retirement age.
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