China population: state pension fund under pressure from ‘unprecedented challenge’ as nation gets older
- Last year, China’s working age population fell, while the nation’s elderly population grew, adding to the pressure on the state pension fund
- China’s state pension fund could run out of money by 2035, with China’s elderly population potentially reaching 300 million by the end of 2025
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China 2020 census records slowest population growth in decades
This is the fifth in a series of stories about China’s once-a-decade census conducted in 2020. The world’s most populous nation released its national demographic data on Tuesday, and the figures will have far-reaching social policy and economic implications.
Zhao Baidong, a 28-year-old property agent in Beijing, would like to travel when he retires, but with China and its state pension system facing a “challenge unprecedented in human history” as its population gets older, he is concerned he might be forced down a different route for his golden years.
“I have paid a lot of attention to the social security fund. I hope that the retirement age will be extended and there is a guarantee of income [when I retire],” said Zhao. “If my retirement income is just average, I might run a small store to support myself. If I have more than I need, I might travel a bit to experience different ways of life.”
It is an unprecedented challenge in human history to deal with the pension problem of a large elderly population
A projection released in November by the Insurance Association of China said that the nation’s elderly population could reach 300 million by the end of 2025, and that the gap between contributions and outlays could be as high as 10 trillion yuan (US$1.6 trillion) in a decade.
