In China, the decision to raise the retirement age has sparked criticism and debate on social media. Discussions about pension reform are clashing with a 'clash over responsibility and cost-sharing' between workers and companies. Some comments point out that the changes are unrealistic and penalize the youth, while others doubt that private companies will hire older workers, noting that Chinese tech companies regularly lay off workers over 35. This reflects fundamental inequality in Chinese society between rural and urban communities. Civil servants and other government employees receive larger pensions, currently ranging from 6,000 to 7,000 yuan per month, according to a 2025 report from the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin. Official data released recently showed China's population declining for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, with the birth rate falling to a new record low, and experts warn the decline will continue in the coming years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's total population decreased by 3.39 million to 1.405 billion in 2025, a faster decline than in 2024. Total births fell to 7.92 million in 2025, down 17% from 9.54 million in 2024. A mining factory worker, Liang Lin, is not enthusiastic about the retirement age change but accepts it as necessary to maintain the pension system. 'For younger workers, what matters is their salary amount and retirement benefits,' he says, adding, 'We have to think about the next generation and not be too selfish. But when the next generation retires, their pensions will depend heavily on where they were born and live.' The retirement age for men will be raised from 60 to 63, and for women from 50 to 55 for female workers and from 55 to 58 for female employees. The period workers or their employers must pay contributions to the pension system to receive benefits will increase from 15 to 20 years between 2030 and 2039. Regional disparities. Retirees felt frustration after cuts to healthcare benefits. Dr. Xiang Huang, a professor of comparative politics at Canada's Rutgers University, said: 'We have seen a growing sense of injustice and declining trust in the social security system in China.' He adds that people believe their economic well-being is determined by regional disparities, the tax system, and other factors, not by their work efforts. Frustration among retirees has led to protests against cuts to their healthcare benefits made by local governments in recent years. Aware of the political sensitivity of pension reform, the Chinese government is moving slowly to address the issue despite increasing demographic and economic pressures. Beijing first proposed the idea of raising the retirement age over 10 years ago. Beijing aims to replace the decentralized and regional administration of pension systems with a national one by 2035, but its goals of expanding pension coverage and maintaining the system's universality conflict with the priority of achieving strong economic growth and creating jobs. Ultimately, 'China needs to reduce pension spending over time,' says Dr. Nicholas Bar, who has advised China on pension reforms. The youth unemployment rate in China has approached 20% since the end of 2019, following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the bustling industrial city of Tangshan in northern China, Liang Lin has worked in the maintenance department of a large mining company for 15 years. He still has decades until retirement, longer than he had planned, due to a recent decision to raise the retirement age nationwide. Facing a rapidly aging population that threatens to bankrupt the country's pension system, Beijing began implementing the first retirement age increase since the 1950s last year. Younger workers like Lin will be affected the most, as the retirement age for men will be gradually raised from 60 to 63 over the next few years, while for women it will be raised from 50 to 55 for female workers and from 55 to 58 for female employees. Although the legal retirement age in China is low by global standards, this change poses difficulties, especially for young people engaged in manual labor or facing greater job instability. The required contribution period will also be extended, meaning the time workers or their employers must pay into the pension system to receive benefits will increase from 15 to 20 years between 2030 and 2039. More expensive pensions. Liang's and others' contributions support a growing number of Chinese seniors, with about 22% of China's population currently over 60 years old, and this number is expected to rise to 28%, or 402 million people, by 2040. This trend is due to rising life expectancy and falling birth rates, exacerbated by the one-child policy that lasted in China for decades until 2016. Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science Nicholas Bar said: 'If the retirement age is fixed and people live longer, pensions become more expensive, and eventually the system will collapse.' Dr. Bar, who advised China on pension reforms from 2005 to 2010, adds: 'There has to be an increase in the state retirement age, but that leaves many other problems unsolved, including the deep disparities in China's pension system and the difficult economic trade-offs needed to keep it funded.' A 2019 report by the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences predicted that without reforms, the main government fund financing future pensions would be depleted by 2035. Volatile labor market. Chao, who asked not to be named in full for privacy, works at a small restaurant on a bustling street full of street vendors cooking traditional snacks like fried pastries, kebabs, and sesame candy. Chao wears a red cap and traditional clothing, beats a small drum, and greets guests. He worked for decades at a local chemical plant in strenuous work that included maintaining chimneys before retiring about eight years ago. But Chao can't complain about his pension of about 3,500 yuan a month (about $500). He supplements his income by working as a receptionist at the small restaurant in his hometown. 'I want to be here... this work is fun,' he says. Thanks to his guaranteed pension, Chao is in a better position than many workers, young and old, who worry about finding a job in a volatile labor market, says Dr. Xiang Huang, a professor of comparative politics at Canada's Rutgers University who studies China's social security system. Inequality. Among more than a billion Chinese participating in the system, about 534 million are covered by an urban employee and retiree plan like Chao's, which paid out an average of 3,742 yuan ($537) per month to beneficiaries in 2023. However, 538 million rural residents, including migrant workers and urban laborers, are eligible for a much less generous plan, which paid out about 223 yuan ($32) per month in 2023. One social media user asked: 'Tell me, what are we supposed to do with the remaining 30 years of our lives?'
