A matter of fairness

A report in late February by the NPC Standing Committee cast the possible change in retirement age as a way to improve the rights of women, who retire five or 10 years earlier than men under current policy.

That drew applause from some gender studies experts, who complained the current provision impairs women's promotion prospects and harms those who are willing and able to keep working.

"When a superior considers a promotion for two candidates, say, a man and a woman who are both 50 years old, the woman is probably at a disadvantage because she is approaching the expiration date for work," said Li Xia, an anthropologist specializing in women's studies and senior editor of the Commercial Press.

Liaoning University's Mu Huaizhong said, "Senior experts, especially women, who retire at 55 don't even have time to earn back the tuition for a doctorate." It was humorous, but not a joke.

A recent four-year study that Tang Jun conducted in Henan, Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region found that most women don't want their working years to be prolonged.

"No one, among the 3,000 women residents and migrant workers interviewed including doctors and technical staff, would like to retire at age 60 like men, " Tang said. "Instead, most of them said they can't go on working if the retirement age is delayed."

Tang said every country, when considering adjusting retirement age, faces the same problem: Senior technical staff and others who enjoy good social welfare appreciate it, and low-end laborers reject it.

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Sociology experts said the intensity and duration of blue-collar work is already unbearable. The current actual retirement age on average is 53, and early retirement is common, especially in small cities.

Last year, a series of protest demonstrations were called in France when the country lifted its retirement age from 60 to 62. "China might suffer more serious political risks," Tang said, "for 70 percent of laborers in the country are blue-collar workers. The percentage is much higher than in Western countries."

Tang also mentioned the 30 million people who were laid off in the 1990s. They're nearing retirement age, and their pensions would provide more income than the unemployment compensation they've been receiving. Waiting a further 10 years would not be well received, Tang said.

"Like Premier Wen Jiabao said, 'Social equity and justice can shine even brighter than the sun'. We don't fear scarcity but uneven distribution," said Zhou at Renmin University. "The government should consider the issue prudently, for it relates to the most vital interests of the masses."

Most experts interviewed by China Daily said it is too early to discuss pushing back retirement age, and that the country can adopt a flexible retirement policy in the future if it encounters a labor shortage.