From Chinese Press

Fixing women's retirement age

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-03 07:44

A report released by the State Council, China's Cabinet, says the issue of women's retirement age should be considered discretely and according to the real situations in different industries. Besides, women should have the option to decide whether they want to retire early or not, says an article in Xi'an Evening Post. Excerpts:

With the increasing aging population and continuous workers' development, the big gap between the retirement age of men and women may have become a thing of the past, but some people still want women to retire at an earlier age. They say that it would reduce the pressure on the government to pay them higher amounts of pension.

But forcing early retirement on women would create obstacles in their career paths and deprive them of the right to work in violation of gender equality.

If women retire five or 10 years earlier than men their pension and other retirement benefits would be curtailed, too.

Under such circumstances, it is indeed necessary to reconsider the issue of women's retirement age with discretion and keeping their social position in mind.

Given the gap in the requirements of different industries and the actual need for retirement, the superannuation age should be adjusted gradually and according to individual's needs.

Furthermore, viewing the issue from the perspective of equal care for senior citizens, reconsidering women's retirement age should include balancing the pension gap between different groups of women.

The existing pension gaps among people of different industries and among women working in diverse sectors is the fundamental reason for adjusting the retirement age of women.

The opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily 03/03/2011 page9)