Chinese Youngest Retirees

The average retirement age in China, at 55, is the youngest in the world, according to Yin Weimin, minister of Human Resources and Social Security. The central government is at present considering a steady rise in the retirement age. This is imperative for a country that is becoming old before getting rich.

China now has 210 million people aged above 60, representing 15.5 percent of its population. This figure will rise to 19.3 percent by 2020 and 38.6 percent by 2050. In contrast, by 2020 the old-age dependency ratio will fall from the current 3.04:1 to 2.94:1 and to 1.3:1 by 2050. This demographic change will have tremendous impact on China’s pension and medical care systems.

The existing retirement policy dates back to the early 1950s, Yin said, when life expectancy was less than 50. As, on average, Chinese people now live well into their 70s, the policy is obviously obsolete.