Public concerned over plan to raise retirement age
Print Edition
WHILE retirement is a long way off for millions of Chinese, their concerns about it have arrived sooner than expected.
Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, said on Monday that this year China looks set to raise the retirement age to offset the pressures brought about by a shrinking work force and an aging society.
China had 220 million people aged 60 or over last year. Currently the retirement age for men is 60, while for women it is 55 for white-collar workers and 50 for blue-collar employees. The retirement age has not progressed in line with economic and social developments.
Yin’s announcement has got the country talking. According to a survey by China Youth Daily this week, 90 percent of the nearly 170,000 surveyed were concerned with the plan.
Guo Caifen, a 48-year-old kindergarten teacher, is one. “On one hand I would prefer to retire earlier. But on the other, postponing retirement would increase my pension,” she said.
According to Yin, the changes will be phased in over a period of years with only slight annual increases, which means the early recipients of the policy will have their retirement postponed by a shorter period.
“For example, if you’re a man turning 60 when the policy takes effect, your retirement will be postponed by just three months,” he said.
According to Jin Weigang, a researcher with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the plan is likely to be implemented in 2022, after a five-year transitional period.
“Postponing retirement will limit employment opportunities for the younger generation,” said Deng Dasong, a social security researcher at Wuhan University.
Many expressed the same concern on social media.
“We will struggle to progress if senior staff stay longer in their positions,” a person said.
“Older employees might have lost their edge before they retire, which may put their jobs in jeopardy,” said another.
Zheng Bingwen, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said: “The employment situation of a country is not directly related to the retirement age.”
As for the future, it is widely suggested that the policy be implemented flexibly, a motion supported by 77 percent of those polled by China Youth Daily.
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