'Flexible Retirement Age' Proposed in China

How old should women be to retire? The issue has again grabbed nationwide attention, following a recent proposal by the country's top legislature to make some adjustments.

The notion of "flexible retirement age" has becomes a buzzword among female members of the ongoing sessions of the National's People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the "Guangzhou Daily" reports.

Currently, men retire at age 60 and women at age 55 in China, despite the average life expectancy of women just so happens to be longer than men.

According to the majority of female members, women should be given the right to choose for themselves.

Men and women should enjoy equal rights, and should basically retire at the same age. But for those who want to retire earlier, they should be allowed to leave their jobs, according to Zhao Shaohua, vice chairperson of All China Women's Federation.

Early retirement of women means a kind of "resource waste," particularly in research fields such as high-tech and higher education, according to Cheng Ping, a CPPCC member.

"It's a loss for the country when people must retire at a certain age," Wang Ping, a CPPCC member and curator of the Chinese Ethnic Museum also echoed this viewpoint.

"At our museum, the 50 to 55-year-old female staff are the most experienced. They are very happy when permitted to work until 60-years-old," said Wang, who added it's difficult to cultivate qualified staff for museum positions as they require multifold qualities, and the female is more suitable for these positions.