Amid pension funding crisis, China's move to raise retirement age sparks dissent

Beijing [China], July 23 : China, in a move to counter its rapidly ageing population and a severe pension funding crisis, has expressed its intent to raise its statutory retirement age, as reported by CNN.
However, the move planned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been receiving severe backlash from its citizens within days of its announcement.
In the current scenario, men in urban areas could retire at age 60, receiving a pension from the state. Similarly, the retirement age for females in urban settings is around 50 or 55, depending on their respective occupations.
But, it is also important to note that the rural workforce in China falls under a completely different retirement system.
"In accordance with the principles of voluntariness and flexibility, [we] will steadily and orderly advance the reform of progressively delaying the statutory retirement age," CCP announced during its Third Plenum, according to CNN.
Reportedly, the country has been suffering from a rapidly ageing population for over a decade. And notably, this has increased the number of people who depend upon the state's pension system for their survival.
The CNN report claimed that in 2013's plenum, the Communist Party said that it has become necessary to "study and formulate" a policy to delay the retirement age. Previously, in December, a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimated that the retirement age would be increased to 65 years soon. But the same think tank from China, in another report released in 2019, predicted that China's state fund for pensions would finish by 2035.
Additionally, the strict pandemic-related restrictions had made the situation of the state funds even worse.
The CNN report also claimed that, last year, while raising their voice against the same issue of reducing pensions, thousands of elderly people in China organised protests in major cities complaining about cuts in their payments of medical benefits.
A similar outrage among China's populace was noticed on social media platforms. With many expressing their discontent over the prospect of delayed access to their pensions. Moreover, the youngsters in China also complained that they would have fewer jobs if older workers stayed in the labour force longer, the CNN report added.
On Weibo, a social media platform in China, "advancing the reform of delaying retirement age" has been noted as a top trending hashtag.
According to CNN, one of the most liked comments was, "Please be aware: delaying retirement age only means you can't receive a pension until very late. It doesn't guarantee you would still have a job before that."
Similarly, Xiaohongshu, China's equivalent of Instagram, has also noticed 100 million views for posts that have the hashtag "retirement age."
A user had mentioned on the platform, "Delaying retirement age on a 'voluntary basis'? Just like the elder generation was 'voluntarily' forced to have only one child or laid off from state enterprises?"
The unemployment rate in China had seen a severe rise after the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, employers in China have continued to reduce their hiring despite the lifting of COVID restrictions in the nation.