Increase in Retirement Age Proposed by Academy

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently published a green book that encourages the Chinese government to set a clear timetable to increase retirement age in the country. The move is a suggested solution to a future pension fund gap.

The green book, which discusses population and labor in the country, suggests that female employees should retire at the age of 55 starting 2018. However, the retirement age will be increased by one year for every three years. The process will go on until 2015.

Meanwhile, male employees' retirement age will be increased by one year every six years until 2045, when employees from both genders can retire at the age of 65.

"Increasing the retirement age can effectively slow down a long-term decline in the labor force, and is helpful in boosting social equality," said Du Yang, a professor from the Institute of Population and Labor Economics.

Su Hainan, deputy head of the China Association for Labor Studies, also agrees with the proposal.

"It is reasonable to postpone the retirement age first by increasing that of women, as a woman in her 50s today is at the prime of her career and is capable of working, and women's life expectancy and their educational level has increased in recent years." said Su in an interview with China Daily.

Currently, Chinese women who work in factories can retire by the age of 50, while those employed in the public sector can retire at 55. Men, on the other hand, retire at the age of 60.

Although a deficit in pension funds is not a significant threat, and that the move can help the country cope with its increasingly aged population, some locals are not too happy about the proposal.

"I would rather retire early and earn more money by operating a restaurant on my own," said Wang Xiaoyong, who works as a cab driver in Beijing. "Working another five years won't really make a difference to my income."