According to reports, China has delayed the retirement age of government employees as decades of one-child policy has had a negative impact on its ageing population.
Last month a report claimed China’s manufacturing hub Jiangsu province had allowed individuals to postpone retirement in order to curb social welfare spending.
Also Read: China’s population grows but birth rate drops to record low in 2021
The current retirement age in China is 60 years for men and 55 for white-collar women and 50 for blue-collar women. Reports claimed Jiangsu is set to allow individuals to voluntarily defer retirement by a year or more.
Reports claimed earlier this month the Communist Party of China (CCP) had delayed its retirement policy with local governments reportedly short of money.
The Chinese government had aimed to increase the retirement age under its five-year plan through 2025 as expenditure on social security pensions continues to rise in Chinese states.
China has been hit by an ageing population crisis. Reports claim the population of those over 60 had jumped 45 per cent even as the population of those between 16 to 59 had dipped 5 per cent as millions get set to retire between 2020 to 2025 amid a looming labour crisis.
China’s population growth had dipped to a new low last year. China’s population growth rate last year was reportedly the lowest since 1960 at 0.034 per cent. The Chinese government had announced a three-child policy after decades of sticking to its one-child rule even as its 1.4 billion people age rapidly.
The birth rate in China had fallen 13 per cent in 2021 to 10.62 million babies as the Xi government grapples with a consistent retirement policy.
(With inputs from Agencies)
