Revising the retirement age

Extending the retirement age may be something the government has to do in the near future to alleviate the increasingly heavy pressure on pension funds. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security confirmed on Tuesday that it is considering putting forward such a proposal to the central authorities.

The recent national census revealed that the number of residents above the age of 60 had reached 185 million at the end of last year, accounting for 13.7 percent of the country's total population. By 2015, this figure will be 221 million, 16 percent of the total population.

It is unrealistic for the central coffers to always subsidize the pension funds. The annual pension report for 2011 showed that the revenue for 14 provinces and municipalities' public accounts and accounts for the retired fell short for paying the pensions and the deficit was almost 70 billion yuan ($11 billion).