CARTOON BY LI SHEN

Postponing the retirement age is a contentious issue. China issued a white paper on its human resources condition on September 10, 2010, which is considering moving the retirement age to 65. He Ping, an official of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said the plan is for the retirement age to be pushed back one year in every three years, with that for females beginning in 2010 and for males in 2015. This proposal results from the increasing deficit of the public pension fund owing to the surging numbers of the country's aging population.  

Currently, the statutory retirement age is usually 60 for men and 55 for women. For those working in industries requiring heavy manual labor at high altitude, in high temperatures or underground, or in other health threatening industries, men can retire at 55 and women at 45. According to the white paper, by 2035 it will take two taxpayers to pay for one retiree's pension.   

The issue has divided people firmly into two camps. Some believe that extending the retirement age is a good way to alleviate the pressure on the increasing pension payouts as it directly addresses the problem of an aging population. However, others maintain that if senior employees stay in the workplace longer, more young job hunters will be squeezed out the job market, making the country's employment situation even more difficult.