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December 3, 2015

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Researchers outline new retirement time frame

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences yesterday presented a time frame on how the national retirement age can be progressively raised to age 65 for both men and women by 2045.

The release of the plan follows the Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security鈥檚 October announcement that it had started to work on new regulations that would legally raise the current retirement age.

Women, who can currently retire as early as 50, would not be allowed to retire before they reach the age of 55 starting in 2017, according to the academy鈥檚 plans. From 2018 on, the retirement age would be 56, and then rise one year every three years, before eventually reaching 65 in 2045, the academy鈥檚 time frame outlines.

The changes suggested by the academy, which have not been approved by the government, would affect men less drastically, as their retirement age is already set at 60 years. In 2018, men wouldn鈥檛 be allowed to retire before they reach the age of 61. From 2018 on, the age would be delayed by one year every six years, which would reach 65 in 2042, according to the Green Book of Population of Labor, which was released by the academy yesterday.

鈥淓stimates show that the retirement delay can effectively improve the labor supply,鈥 the academy writes, noting one of many advantages of changing the retirement age.

The Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security first mentioned that it was planning to raise the retirement age in 2012. 鈥淧ostponing retirement is an inevitable trend,鈥 the ministry announced at the time.

In October, Minister Yin Weimin confirmed that a reform is underway. The ministry, he said, was already working on details. New regulations would be announced once they are approved by the central government, Yin said.

In a worldwide comparison, China鈥檚 retirement age ranks among the lowest. In Japan, the retirement age is 61, with plans to raise it to 65 by 2025 鈥 two decades ahead of the academy鈥檚 plans for China. South Korea recently raised the national retirement age to 60.

China鈥檚 policy on retirement came in effect in the early 1950s, when the average life expectancy was under 50 years, Yin said.


 

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