OREANDA-NEWS. During the 14th five-year plan, calculated for 2021-2025, the Chinese government will gradually raise the retirement age and improve the social security system. These plans are mentioned in the report on the work of the government.

State Council Premier Li Keqiang said in his report at the opening of the annual parliamentary session: "We will work to achieve an adequate birth rate. The standard retirement age will be raised in stages with coverage of basic old-age pension insurance to 95% of the population."

The report notes that the social security and charity system will also be improved.

The data from the 2000 all-China census showed that the population of China had already entered the stage of aging. By the end of 2017, the total population reached 1.39 billion people, of which 240 million, i.e. 17.3%, are over 60 years old. According to these indicators, no country in the world can compare with China. According to forecasts, by 2035 there will be one pensioner for every second taxpayer in China, after 2030 there will be a sharp shortage of labor, by 2050 there will be 487 million elderly Chinese - already 34.9% of the country's population.

The retirement age in China was established by law in 1978 and continues to this day. The pension is available for men over the age of 60 and women over the age of 55, one of the earliest retirement ages in the world.

The retirement age was established when the average life expectancy was 68 years, but now this figure has exceeded 77 years. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security believes that the old installations no longer meet the requirements of the times. China is currently considering a reform plan that will gradually raise the retirement age for men and women to 65 by 2045.