Elderly woman washes vegetables in a tulou in Fujian, China. Sheng Li/Reuters
China is grappling with a pension crisis as its population ages.
According to the OECD, people over 60 make up 13 percent of the country’s workforce.
China expects an additional 300 million people to reach retirement age in the next decade.
This is a machine translation of an article from our US colleagues at Business Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by a real editor.
China is in a pension crisis. This is because a large proportion of older people cannot afford to stop working. Reuters reported last Tuesday that of the 734 million people working in China, 94 million are over 60 – accounting for 13 percent of the workforce.
This data is based on an evaluation by the OECD. They also show that the proportion of older people in the working population has increased dramatically in recent years. In 2020 this was still 8 percent. This is largely due to China’s rapidly aging population. In addition, 300 million people will reach retirement age in the next ten years, according to the OECD. That’s almost half of China’s workforce
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The demographic imbalance has placed a heavy burden on government services. Especially considering the high youth unemployment in China. That means less money goes into the pool of resources available to keep people afloat in retirement.
As Reuters reports, monthly pensions in urban areas range between 3,000 and 6,000 yuan (roughly 385 to 770 euros). The pension payments amount to at least 123 yuan (about 15.80 euros) per month.
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