The five-year reform blueprint, released last month following a key Communist Party gathering, includes a commitment to raise the retirement age. According to the resolution adopted at the third plenum of the party’s 20th Central Committee, China will gradually increase the statutory retirement age based on the principle of “voluntary participation with appropriate flexibility”.
For the first time, a key policy document outlines the principles of the reform, fuelling expectations that the decade-long initiative will soon be implemented. China’s current minimum retirement age to receive pension benefits — 60 for men and between 50 and 55 for women, depending on their job — is among the lowest globally. In comparison, the retirement age is 62 for men and women in the US and 66 in Germany.
