China's retirement age is the youngest in the world and should be adjusted as soon as possible. This is what some domestic experts said.
01
Recently, Zheng Bingwen, director of the World Social Security Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the current retirement age in China is the youngest, and the average retirement age for men and women is 55 years old, which is 12 years earlier than the retirement age in developed countries, and should be adjusted as soon as possible. This point of view has sparked heated discussions on the Internet.
This is the speech of an expert of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which is both professional and authoritative. But in the eyes of many netizens, this also seems to have no "humanity".
He said that China has the youngest retirement age, and I dare not agree, and there is no actual data to refute it. But I wonder who this "youngest" is compared to.
Compared with our African brothers, we do not have this need. Compared with countries all over the world, it is too exciting. Compared with Europe, America, Japan and South Korea, it is still possible.
Many people don't know the retirement age in the mainland, and here is a popularization of the current retirement system: 60 years old for male workers in the mainland, 55 years old for female cadres and female flexible workers, and 50 years old for female workers.
Well, let's take a look at the retirement age in the United States. In the United States, the U.S. retirement system has a certain degree of flexibility, with the normal retirement age being 67 and early retirement being 62. Many elderly people choose to delay retirement, and some people choose to retire early.
Let's take a look at Europe. Their retirement age is 67 years in Denmark, 66 years in the United Kingdom, 65 years in Spain, 65 years in Germany, 65 years for men and 60 years for women in Italy, 62 years in France and 62 years in Norway.
Let's look at Asia. Australia is 65 years old, Singapore is 62 years old, Japan is 65 years old, India is 60 years old, South Korea is 60 years old, Malaysia is 55 years old (the youngest).
It can be seen that compared with Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea, the retirement age of the mainland is relatively young, and South Korea, India has a draw, I heard that South Korea is also about to rise to 65 years old to retire, it seems that experts dare to make such a conclusion, should have looked at the above data, but seems to ignore Malaysia.
It is also considered that the retirement age of the mainland is the youngest in the world. But rhetorically, why do we want to look up to Europe and the United States? Is it because their retirement systems are more advanced than ours?
02
Let's not go ahead and leave it aside, but at least other people's systems are in line with their own national conditions.
Look at the United States.
Early retirement is allowed in the United States. A person who reaches the age of 62 can start receiving a pension, but at a 7% discount, and for each month of delay, the discount is less.
But the United States encourages delayed retirement, and if a person chooses to retire at or after the age of 70, then they can get 132% of their pension each month.
This is because although the overall welfare in the United States is good, wage earners have a secure life after retirement. But social security funds are not inexhaustible.
Now the United States is also facing the dilemma of lack of social security funds. Therefore, they adopt a gradual retirement system, "early retirement less zero, late retirement more receiving"!
It seems reasonable and fair. Americans have very little savings, and in case of "social security bankruptcy", then many Americans will become homeless.
03
Back to the UK.
Retirement protection in the UK is relatively comprehensive. Unlike in China, even if you have not worked in the UK, you can still receive a pension if you have reached retirement age.
British retirees can basically receive a pension of about 8,000 euros a year, which is equivalent to more than 70,000 yuan.
Many elderly people can use this money to live well, so they don't worry about the problem of pension at all, and the government has the back. But there is also a problem that the UK's social insurance funds are also under great pressure, and the retirement age has been raised after several reforms.
It can be seen that there is a price to be paid for receiving more and receiving well, that is, to "work until you are old". In addition, the British economy has been bad in the past two years, the telephone inflation has been serious, and the bankruptcy of some cities has also endangered the people's retirement security.
In addition, the annual birth rate in the UK has remained low all year round, and in the first half of 2023, the number of newborns in the UK will not exceed 400,000. Similarly, the number of older people is on the rise, affecting the UK. Therefore, in order to maintain basic social service guarantees, some positions also require retired elderly people to stay in their original posts and shine.
04
Norway must also be mentioned here.
The average life expectancy in Norway is generally longer, with a whopping 82.7 years for women and 78.2 years for men. In addition to the government's and society's attentive attention to the elderly, the country's "pension system that covers every citizen" has contributed to it.
The legal retirement age in Norway is 67 for both men and women, and they receive a pension upon retirement. In addition, the retirement age in Norway is linked to the type of work, and those in the high-intensity physical category will retire early.
At the same time, people can also choose their own retirement age, of course, if they retire early, the retirement salary will be affected, but it will be restored after the statutory retirement age.
More importantly, there are strict regulations on working hours and intensity during normal working hours, and it is impossible for enterprises to require employees to 996 in violation of regulations. If you do so, you will be fined heavily.
Such welfare benefits are very preferential for those construction workers and plastering workers. They can choose to retire early, and their salary after retirement will not have much of an impact.
So on the whole, although the retirement age in Norway is relatively late, their quality of life will not be affected by this in the slightest.
05
In China, why do many people have opinions and even disgust when it comes to delayed retirement?
The following is an online survey on the postponement of the retirement age in China:
According to the survey, respondents' reasons for supporting delayed retirement are:
1. "Reducing the burden of young people supporting their parents" (16.6%);
2. "The pension gap can be solved" (8.2%);
3. "The inevitable choice of an aging society" (7.7%);
4. "Make more contributions to society" (5.3%);
5. "The sustainability of the pension system can be realized" (3.7%).
Correspondingly, the reasons cited by respondents against delaying retirement are, firstly, "less than 65 years old" (59.6%), secondly, "it may be an excuse for some members of the power to continue to retain power" (52.4%), and thirdly, "putting pressure on young people to find employment" (50.0%).
In addition, "the unfair premise of the dual-track pension system has not changed", "I want to enjoy life with a pension as soon as possible", "it will increase a lot of social costs such as medical care and intergenerational support".
In this regard, some experts believe that although delaying retirement is not the only way to solve the pension gap, it is indeed one of the effective methods. From a national point of view, delaying retirement can increase China's pension fund by 4 billion yuan a year, reduce expenditure by 16 billion yuan, and alleviate the fund gap of about 20 billion yuan.
But we can also see that the main reason respondents oppose delaying retirement is that they are not in the job force at the age of 65.
The reality is also true. In China, the intensity of work in many types of work is often beyond the scope of people's imagination, and when "996" and "007" become people's work norms, many people have to think about their retirement life in advance.
Delaying retirement will inevitably affect the interests of most people. Some people say that it is not only comparable to the retirement age in developed countries, but also in terms of all-round social welfare, paid leave, working hours, overtime pay, etc.
Some people even joked: If I were treated the same as experts, I would also like to retire later. It is not compared to benefits, not to work hours, not to compare the working environment, not to compare wages, and more than retirement age, it is estimated that not many people can support such an opinion.
And I think that when people in China are not worried about their pension problems, then they can implement delayed retirement in a timely manner. After all, "the old have something to support and rely on" is not just a matter of words, but also a practical implementation, and it cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach to the West.