China is planning to raise its retirement age as policymakers try to address alarming demographic trends that could lead to disaster in the country, according to a state media report on Tuesday. Currently, China enjoys some of the lowest retirement ages in the world, with women who work in factories able to retire at 50, women in professional jobs at 55, and men at 60. But as population numbers shrink and average ages rise—fueled in part by China’s devastating one child policy, in effect between 1980 and 2015—pension budgets are coming under increasing strain. Jin Weigang, president of the Chinese Academy of Labor and Social Security Sciences, told the Global Times that Chinese lawmakers are now considering a “progressive, flexible and differentiated path to raising the retirement age,” such that retirement would only initially be forestalled by a matter of months. “People nearing retirement age will only have to delay retirement for several months,” the outlet said, citing Jin, adding that younger people may have to stay in work for several more years than previously expected.
