Beijing, China

China has announced that the country will "gradually raise" its retirement age for the first time since the 1950s, as the country confronts an ageing population and a low pension budget. 

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The top legislative body of China, on Friday (Sep 13), approved proposals to raise the statutory retirement age from 50 to 55 for women in blue-collar jobs, and from 55 to 58 for women in white-collar jobs. 

Meanwhile, the retirement age will be raised from 60 to 63. 

Also read: Delayed retirements: China's answer to pension woes

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Notably, China's current retirement age is among the lowest in the world. 

According to the plan passed on Friday, the change will begin from January 1, 2025, with the respective retirement ages raised every few months over the next 15 years, the state media reported. 

According to China's state media Xinhua, retiring before the statutory age will not be allowed, however, people can delay their retirement by no more than three years. 

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Watch | Xi Jinping to China's women: 'Marry early, have children, retire late'

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Earlier in 2019, the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said that the country's main state pension fund would be out of money by 2035. 

In order to receive pensions, employees will also have to contribute more to the social security system from 2030. By 2039, they would have to clock 20 years of contributions to access their pensions.

The proposal to increase retirement ages was based on  "a comprehensive assessment of the average life expectancy, health conditions, the population structure, the level of education and workforce supply in China," Xinhua reported.

Netizens criticise the plan

However, the plan has triggered scepticism and discontent on Chinese social media. 

"In the next 10 years, there will be another bill that will delay retirement until we are 80," one user wrote on the Chinese social media site Weibo.

"What a miserable year! Middle-aged workers are faced with pay cuts and raised retirement ages. Those who are unemployed find it increasingly difficult to get jobs," another user said. 

"Men in most European countries retire when they are 65 or 67, while women do at 60. This is going to be the trend in our country as well," one Weibo user said.

(With inputs from agencies)