Higher Retirement Age May Help Solve Pension Problem

Residents of a home for the elderly in Feixiang County, Hebei Province, share a laugh. China's pension system faces pressing challenges as the number of people of working age continues to fall. [China Daily]

A top pensions official has voiced support for raising the retirement age, to make the welfare system more sustainable.

Hu Xiaoyi, vice-minister of human resources and social security, said changes are needed to ease the strain placed on pensions by an aging population.

"Last year, the working-age population dropped for the first time, a signal that China needs to make better use of its human resources," he said.

Hu was speaking in Beijing on Monday at a session with journalists on the Chinese Dream and the Social Insurance System, organized by the All-China Journalists Association.

The National Bureau of Statistics says the number of people of working age fell by 3.45 million to 937.27 million last year.

Hu would not elaborate on when and how the reform will be launched, but said the government has been prudent on the issue.

He also said the authorities should draft more policies supporting employment for middle-aged and elderly people.

Asked if the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee will set the tone for pension reform in November, he said he could not predict anything.

But Hu added that his ministry will deepen social insurance reform to make it more fair, more sustainable and able to adapt to labor mobility.