Should people retire later?

gzlaser

THE Chinese Government is studying the feasibility of raising the mandatory retirement age to shrink the huge deficit in the pension fund, the China Economic Weekly reports.

Although the legal retirement age in China is 60 for men and 55 for most women, many employees of State-owned enterprises have been allowed to retire in their 40s or 50s to make openings for new graduates and others.

The average retirement age in China is 51.2 years — 10 years younger than that of other countries.

According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the social security fund was 800 billion yuan in the red at the end of last year. This is compared to 36 billion yuan in 2000, the report said.

Unidentified ministry officials were quoted as saying that they may put forward a proposal on raising the retirement age within a month.

But experts hold that, when retirement is put off, it only worsens unemployment and make it harder for young people to find jobs.

What's your opinion? Should China raise the mandatory retirement age?