China will increase its retirement age starting next year, addressing concerns over a decreasing population and an aging workforce. This adjustment is considered overdue, as China's current retirement age is among the youngest in major global economies. The policy, set to roll out over 15 years, will raise the retirement age for men to 63 and for women to 55 or 58, contingent on their job type. Currently, men retire at 60, women in blue-collar roles at 50, and women working white-collar jobs at 55.
The new regulation, effective from January, was announced by China's legislature and broadcast by CCTV. The change will be phased based on birthdates; for instance, a man born in January 1971 can retire at 61 years and 7 months in August 2032, while a man born in May 1971 can retire at 61 years and 8 months by January 2033. "We have more people coming into the retirement age, and so the pension fund is (facing) high pressure, that's why I think it's now time to act seriously," remarked Xiujian Peng, a senior research fellow at Victoria University in Australia. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)