Lawmakers discuss plan to gradually lift retirement age in China

The move comes as the country is grappling with a declining birth rate and rapidly greying population

Reading Time:2 minutes

China’s leadership wants to raise the retirement age, which is among the lowest in the world. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00pm, 11 Sep 2024Updated: 10:26pm, 11 Sep 2024

China’s top legislature has reviewed a plan to gradually raise the retirement age, months after the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee proposed it be lifted in a “voluntary and flexible” way.

The retirement age has been in place since 1951 and is among the lowest in the world. It is currently 60 for men, 55 for women in white-collar jobs and 50 for women in blue-collar jobs.

Lawmakers on Tuesday discussed a “draft decision on the implementation of a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age” submitted by the State Council, China’s cabinet, official news agency Xinhua reported.

Human Resources and Social Security Minister Wang Xiaoping presented the draft at the meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the top legislative body whose current session runs until Friday.

The draft plan has not yet been made public.

37:19

China’s elderly are heading to retirement, here’s why that’s a problem

It comes as China’s leadership has repeatedly called for the retirement age to be delayed in recent years, as the country faces growing pressure from a declining birth rate and an ageing population.