Plan to delay retirement age must give workers peace of mind

Vice-Minister of Human Resources and Social Security You Jun said at a news conference on Friday that the ministry is working with relevant departments to draw up a plan for delaying retirement, and it will widely solicit opinions so as to make it as acceptable as possible to all.

The Communist Party of China Central Committee’s proposals for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the long-range objectives through the year 2035, which were adopted last year, called for raising the statutory retirement age in a gradual manner.

The question now is no longer whether to delay retirement, but how to increase the retirement age in a gradual way and how to coordinate the interests of different groups and generations in the plan.

For decades China’s retirees relied on their work units for their pensions. It was not until 2000 that the national social security fund was established. As a result, those who retired earlier than that benefited more from the reform because they did not contribute much to the fund while they were working. In effect, the younger generation paid for their pensions, which has increased the pressure on the fund.

With their retirement age delayed, how will those born in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the backbone of the work force, form stable expectations of the future? How to get their support when they face the double pressure of longer working hours and postponement of the retirement age? The retirement delay plan should fully consider the principle of “pay more, get more” and reflect the contributions of different generations in the future pension distribution plan.

Second, with the retirement age to be raised, how to ensure older workers are not discriminated against when they grow old is also an issue that needs to be addressed.

Many media outlets have been focusing on the “35-year-old problem”, which refers to many enterprises making 35 the ceiling for their recruitment age and rejecting job applicants aged above this. In many companies, those aged above 35 also face difficulties being promoted. While raising the retirement age, it is necessary to prevent age discrimination so that those in their 40s or 50s can still be competitive in the job market.

Delaying retirement is meant to ease the pressure on the social security funds, but that should not be the only choice.

To sum up, it is necessary to ensure fairness for all when postponing the retirement age.