China reforms its pension system and will delay retirement age

The retirement age will gradually increase to 58 for women and 63 for men. It was 50 or 55 for women, and 60 for men.

It is a bolt from the blue in the world’s second largest economy. China announced on Friday, September 13, the launch of a vast reform of its retirement system. A bill has just been voted on in Beijing by the National People’s Assembly. To cope with the inexorable aging of its population, the communist regime will gradually raise the retirement age, which is currently one of the lowest in the world.

This is a necessary development that was inevitable. Inevitable because the system that is in force today dates from 1950, at a time when China was a very poor country, where life expectancy was barely over 40 years. These rules, developed during the Mao era, still allow women to leave the world of work very early, at 50 or 55 years depending on the case, 60 years for men.

The system has hardly been changed since 1950, but China has changed completely. Its economy has become powerful and, above all, its population continues to age, with a life expectancy approaching 79 years. Fewer and fewer employees are contributing, and under these conditions, the current pension system is threatened with bankruptcy. If nothing is done, the coffers will be empty by 2035, according to a study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. China can no longer afford to see some workers retire at 50, so the communist regime decides to raise the retirement age to 63 for men and 55 or 58 for women.

The idea of ​​reforming the pension system took a long time to gain traction, because it represents a political risk for the Chinese government. In fact, this reform has been discussed since 2013. If it took so long to see the text adopted by Parliament, it is because the subject is socially very sensitive. The Chinese are attached to the current pension system, which is not perfect, but which has advantages. Even if there is no political debate in the countries, the Chinese are still expressing themselves. Since Friday’s announcement, which represents a real upheaval, hundreds of thousands of Internet users have posted comments on social networks, some expressing reservations about this reform.

Challenging this system could generate protest from retirees, who do not hesitate to express their disagreement and to criticize. This is why the Chinese government is not rushing. The increase in the retirement age will be gradual and will be spread over 15 years.