China said Friday it would raise its retirement age for the first time in decades, as the world’s second-largest economy struggles with falling birth rates and an aging workforce.
The country’s top legislative body approved a draft proposal to gradually implement the changes, state media reported Friday. China’s retirement ages are among the lowest in the world and had remained unchanged since they were set in the 1950s.
The statutory retirement age for both men and women will be gradually increased starting Jan. 1 of next year, according to the decision by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Over a period of 15 years, it will be raised from 60 to 63 for men, 55 to 58 for women in white-collar jobs and 50 to 55 for women working in factories.
For those born in 1965, retirement would be delayed by one month, according to a chart published by Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. Those born in 1984 would have to wait as long as five extra years to retire.
The changes have been the subject of heated discussion among the Chinese public since they were proposed earlier this year.
Young people already face intense competition to find jobs, while midcareer workers are being laid off as the Chinese economy recovers more slowly than expected after three years of pandemic isolation.
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