Chinese lawmakers voted on Friday to gradually raise the country's statutory retirement age, marking the first change to the regulation since the 1950s.
According to a decision taken at the 11th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, the statutory retirement age for men will gradually increase from 60 to 63 over 15 years starting in 2025, while that for female employees will rise from 55 to 58 and that for male workers from 50 to 55.
Starting in 2030, the minimum years of basic pension contributions required to receive monthly benefits will gradually increase from 15 years to 20 years, at a rate of six months per year.
In the meantime, people will be able to retire voluntarily up to three years earlier after reaching a minimum year of pension contributions. However, it is not permitted to retire earlier than the previous statutory retirement age.
The new policy will also allow individuals to defer retirement to an even later date if they agree with their employers, but such deferral should not exceed three years.
The decision also specifies measures to improve the mechanism of incentives for old-age insurance, implement the "employment first" strategy, safeguard the fundamental rights and interests of workers over the statutory retirement age and improve care services for the elderly and children.
The document contains specific provisions on social welfare for unemployed workers in old age and on early retirement for those in special professions.
At the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, clear measures were taken to gradually raise the country's statutory retirement age.
The plan, approved by lawmakers on Friday, was formulated based on a comprehensive assessment of life expectancy, health conditions, population structure, education levels and labor supply in China.
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