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By Micah McCartney
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China is set to raise its retirement age in a move that some young Chinese fear could further frustrate their chances in an already difficult job market.
The news came in the text of a resolution passed during last week's Third Plenum, a series of meetings held once every five years and attended by top Chinese Communist Party officials.
The document pledged to "advance reform to gradually raise the statutory retirement age in a prudent and orderly manner." The decision to continue working will be voluntary, policymakers stressed, adding they would support "the creation of diverse jobs tailored to the elderly."
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Currently, the retirement age in urban areas is set lower than in many Western countries: 60 for men, 55 for white-collar women, and 50 for working-class women. Those in rural areas are subject to different pension arrangements.
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China, which has the world's second-largest population is now considered an aging society, with those over 65 comprising 15-20 percent of the population and projected to reach about 28 percent within 20 years, according to the World Bank. Its aging workforce threatens to strain social safety nets.
China's fertility rate, one of the world's lowest with just 1.0 births expected per woman, continues to decline despite the end of the one-child, then two-child policies and a raft of government measures intended to boost births.
Netizens on Chinese social media platform Weibo voiced exasperation about the coming retirement reform, pointing out that opting out of delayed retirement does not guarantee pensioner status.
"You retire early and don't get your pension early," one Weibo user said.
"Young people's situation is already so bad. How can you employ the elderly?" another lamented. "The post-90s generation is really cursed."
These sentiments reflect the younger generations' frustration amid a difficult job market, with around 12 million college graduates this year facing scarce job opportunities because of China's slowing economy and President Xi Jinping's crackdowns in recent years on the tutoring and other industries that relied heavily on fresh graduates.
State-owned media outlet the Global Times cited Song Jian, a demographer with Renmin University of China's Center for Population and Development Studies, as praising the voluntary nature of the policy, saying it shows Beijing's consideration for individual preferences. He pointed out the decision to work later in life is influenced by considerations like health and family situations.
China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
The announcement follows recent pension cuts by local governments that drove elderly citizens into the streets in rare mass protests.
The Third Plenum, closely watched by Western analysts for policy changes that could set the direction of the country's development, hinted at other policy changes to come related to China's demographic shift.
The vaguely worded text contained pledges to increase "basic elderly care services," integrate elderly and medical care, build "community-based facilities" and improve services for senior citizens, especially those in rural areas, living alone, or with disabilities.
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