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China mulls pension reform to ease financial burden
Chinese experts have proposed a new pension scheme, raising the pension age, to ease the financial burden of an aging population.

The new scheme suggests that the initial pension age for both men and women should be raised to 65 as of 2030 from the current retirement age of 60 for men and 50 for women.

The scheme, drafted by experts from Tsinghua University, was unveiled on August 12 to solicit feedback from the public.

Viewpoints

For:

Delayed retirement age inevitable
"Delays to retirement ages are not only happening in China. It is a global trend," Li Jianmin, a professor in the population and development research center at Nankai University, told the Global Times, adding that the shrinking labor force due to policies like family planning has made the pension problem a tougher issue for China.

Delaying the retirement age will relieve the heavy financial burden of these retirement pensions, according to Li.

Against:

Retirement proposal strikes nerves among majority
First of all, 70 percent of Chinese workers, men or women, are unable to continue working to the age of 65. Secondly, China is expecting greater pressure in the employment market during the decades to come. If older workers don't make way, this could create an unemployment problem for young people.

Retirement plan favors civil servants
"Delaying retirement might be suitable for civil servants or high-level employees as they would gain more income given they are still working after 60 years old," a 49-year-old worker surnamed Wu, in the Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Company, told the Global Times.

Retirees facing five years without income
Increasing the pension age to 65 may alleviate budgetary problems in the short term, because the mandatory retirement age in China now is 60, the plan would leave people between 60 and 65 without income. Those with enough savings are safe, but how are the rest supposed to support themselves?

China’s Pension System

1949-1992: The companies and companies alone pay ALL the pension costs of urban workers. In 1992: In China, things have been complicated by reforms to the pension system. The new version of the pension system: Companies pay 20 percent of workers' salaries to the government to provide for pensions, while the employees themselves were ordered to pay 8 percent. Possible impacts of current pension system: ● The younger generation has to hold significant debt. ● Older workers would monopolize key jobs and affect employment prospects of young workers. Source: Global Times

News Vocab

养老保险 yǎnglǎo bǎoxiǎn

“养老” v. live out one’s life in retirement（Source: 《新世纪汉英大词典》）

“保险” n. insurance（Source: 《新世纪汉英大词典》）

“养老保险” n. endowment insurance, social security（Source: 《新世纪汉英大词典》）

Webeditor: guwei@globaltimes.com.cn