Retirement age will be pushed back: minister

Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, did not put a timetable on the move when he spoke about it during a forum at the weekend.

"Delaying the retirement age is a very complicated issue and we will study it according to the situations of population and employment and consider different groups of people," Yin said.

He noted that hikes in the retirement age have been brought in by many countries and can be a good way to deal with an aging population and ensure the healthy and stable development of social security.

The life expectancy of Chinese people is now 73 years and is expected to rise to 74 during the next five years, he said.

Nearly three out of 10 Chinese people will be older than 60 by 2040, according to a United Nations forecast.

The retirement age in China currently is 60 for men and 55 for female civil servants and 50 for female workers.

Source: China Daily