Waiting to retire(2)

Fierce opposition

Tsinghua's controversial suggestion certainly drew a lot of attention, but it was far from the first time such suggestions have been aired. However, the previous plans were aborted amid widespread objections.

Some Net users oppose the programs, claiming that the government should pay the debt with national finances in order to solve the problem for good, instead of changing people's retirement age. "Delaying the retirement age will only be effective for a while, but it will emerge again sooner or later given the fact the government refuses to pay the debt," a Weibo user said Sunday.

Many comments also expressed concern that older workers would monopolize key jobs and affect employment prospects of young workers.

However, claims of unfairness have been at the heart of the opposition.

"Delaying retirement might be suitable for civil servants or high-level employees as they would gain more income given they are still working after 60 years old," a 49-year-old worker surnamed Wu, in the Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Company, told the Global Times. "But for a ordinary worker like me, it is not a smart deal because my income is already low. How is it possible for me to stay motivated to work for a couple more years?"

There have also been complaints regarding the different treatment for urban workers and civil servants. The pension reforms in the 1990s largely affected urban workers and left civil servants untouched. This meant they still don't have to pay the 8 percent toward pension funds themselves. They receive pensions directly from public finances, and the payments are usually much higher than their counterparts in enterprises.

"If the people like me are victims of delayed retirement, why should I applaud to this policy?" said Wu.

Previous attempts

Despite the fact that the key program to delay the retirement age still has many years before it kicks in, experimental reforms have already been conducted.

Such reforms have occurred in 13 provinces in China, including Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. However, the effects of these reforms are limited.

Only three years after the government of Liaoning Province stopped borrowing money from private pension insurance accounts of young workers in 2001, Liaoning experienced severe funding shortfalls and had to ask for support from the central government.

Shanghai published an experimental regulation for flexible retirement in 2010, which stipulates that people can delay their age of formal retirement, with men able to delay to 65 years at most and women 60.

During this extended period of work, they don't have to make their medical or maternity insurance payments.

However, the effect has proved limited, with only about 200 people applying to postpone their retirement in 2011.