Gradual Raising of China's Retirement Age
On 13 September 2024 the NPC Standing Committee adopted a decision to raise China's statutory retirement age, officially the first change since 1949. From 1 January 2025, over 15 years, the age rises from 60 to 63 for men and from 50 and 55 to 55 and 58 for women, with up to three years' flexibility either way, and from 2030 the minimum contribution period for a pension rises from 15 to 20 years. The reform responds to population ageing, a shrinking workforce and pressure on the pension fund.
Background
Until the reform the statutory retirement age in the People's Republic was 60 for men, 50 for women in production jobs ("female workers") and 55 for women in managerial and technical posts ("female cadres"), and it had not been changed for decades. Life expectancy meanwhile rose from about 40 in the early 1950s to 78.6 in 2023; by the end of 2023 there were 297 million people aged 60 or over, 21.1% of the population, and the working-age population aged 16–59 had been shrinking since 2012 by more than 3 million a year. In 2022 China's population fell for the first time since 1962.
In 2019 the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' World Social Security Research Centre published a pension actuarial report for 2019–2050 projecting that the accumulated balance of the urban employees' basic pension fund would peak at 6.99 trillion yuan in 2027 and might be exhausted by 2035, while the ratio of contributors to retirees would fall from nearly two to one in 2019 to almost one to one by around 2050. In July 2024 the Resolution of the Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee called for steadily and prudently advancing the gradual raising of the statutory retirement age on voluntary and flexible principles.
The NPC Standing Committee Decision
On 13 September 2024 the 11th session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee adopted the Decision on Implementing the Gradual Raising of the Statutory Retirement Age, described officially as the first adjustment of the retirement age since 1949. From 1 January 2025, over 15 years, the retirement age for men rises from 60 to 63 and for women from 50 and 55 to 55 and 58 respectively. For men and for women who would have retired at 55 the age rises by one month every four months; for women who would have retired at 50, by one month every two months.
The decision also allows workers who have met the minimum contribution period to retire early by up to three years on a voluntary basis, though not below the original statutory age, or, by agreement with their employer, to delay retirement by up to three years; it forbids forcing workers, directly or indirectly, to choose a retirement age against their will. From 2030 the minimum contribution period for a monthly basic pension rises from 15 to 20 years, by six months a year.
Public Reaction
After the decision was announced, a related hashtag quickly topped Weibo's trending list with 560 million views. A 30-year-old marketing professional in Beijing told AFP her first reaction was "so when can I get my pension?", adding that she worried about young people's health under intense competition and about the job market; a university student said he was a bit reluctant to work so long but could understand the decision. Some online comments said the plan was more moderate than expected and acceptable.
Narrative Comparison
| Source | Narrative |
|---|---|
| Chinese official position (NPC Standing Committee decision, CCTV Focus Report, Xinhua explainer) | Gradually raising the statutory retirement age is a major decision taken by the Party Central Committee in light of overall economic and social development; it serves the people's vital interests, makes full use of human resources and supports Chinese modernization with high-quality population development. Over seven decades life expectancy, ageing and the labour force have changed enormously; the reform proceeds gradually — those near retirement work only one or a few months longer, workers may voluntarily retire earlier or later within limits, and no one may be forced to choose a retirement age against their will. |
| Overseas scholars (Xiujian Peng and Yanzhong Huang, interviewed by AP, 2024) | Xiujian Peng, a senior research fellow at Victoria University in Australia who studies China's population and economy, said that with more people reaching retirement age the pension fund faced high pressure and it was time to act seriously, noting that the old retirement ages were set when life expectancy was only about 40. Yanzhong Huang of the Council on Foreign Relations said ageing-related pension pressure was happening everywhere, but that China's large elderly population made its challenge much larger. |
| Workers and internet users (AFP interviews, September 2024) | A 30-year-old marketing professional in Beijing said her first reaction was "so when can I get my pension?"; she worried that young people under intense competition might not stay healthy until that age, and about the job market and whether the change would make people less willing to have children. A university student said he was a bit reluctant to work so long but could understand it: "The country is probably thinking about its ageing population." One Weibo comment with more than 3,000 likes called the plan "more moderate than I expected, I can accept it", while others complained that young people were already anxious and now faced a longer working life. |
Key Milestones
- CASS pension actuarial report
The report projected that the urban employees' pension fund balance might be exhausted by 2035.
- Third Plenum calls for reform
The Third Plenum's resolution called for gradually raising the retirement age on voluntary and flexible principles.
- NPC Standing Committee decision
The decision raised retirement ages over 15 years to 63 for men and 55 or 58 for women.
- Reform takes effect
The gradual raising of the statutory retirement age took effect.
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Chronicles of Modern China. (2026, November 2). Gradual Raising of China's Retirement Age. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://www.cmcarchive.org/events/gradual-retirement-age-reform-2024
“Gradual Raising of China's Retirement Age.” Chronicles of Modern China. Last modified November 2, 2026. Accessed November 2, 2026. https://www.cmcarchive.org/events/gradual-retirement-age-reform-2024.
Chronicles of Modern China. Gradual Raising of China's Retirement Age[EB/OL]. (2026-11-02)[2026-11-02]. https://www.cmcarchive.org/events/gradual-retirement-age-reform-2024.