China's top labor official said the country is planning to push back the age at which workers can retire.
Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, demonstrated that we did not put a timetable on the move when he spoke about it during a forum at the weekend.
"Delaying the retirement age is a very complicated issue and we will study it according to the situations of population and employment and consider different groups of people," Yin said.
He noted that hikes in the retirement age have been brought in by many countries and can be a good way to deal with an aging population and ensure the healthy and stable development of social security.
The life expectancy of Chinese people is now 73 years and is expected to rise to 74 during the next five years, he said.
Nearly three out of 10 Chinese people will be older than 60 by 2040, according to a United Nations forecast.
The retirement age in China currently is 60 for men and 55 for female civil servants and 50 for female workers.
The idea of delaying the retirement age is being widely supported by government officials, while many laborers and non-government employees were less enthusiastic about the prospect of working for longer. Currently, they have to pay into their pension plans for at least 15 years before they can retire.
Chen Xianlian, a female worker at a motorcycle parts manufacturer in Chongqing municipality is among those who would like to see the retirement age left as it is. “I have to do lots of tough and repetitive work every day and I feel very tired after my working day,” the 41-year-old said. “All my colleagues are discussing the government's possible move to lift the retirement age. None of us wants to work any extra years.”
University graduates also fear that any rise in the retirement age could limit their employment opportunities.
小题1:We can learn from the passage that ________.
A．China is not planning to push back the age at which workers can retire
B．China is discussing the problem of delaying the retirement age now
C．China is probably going to delay the retirement age
D．China has pushed back the age at which workers can retire小题2:The underlined word “hikes” in Paragraph 4 means ________.
A．increasing
B． marching
C． pushing
D． discussing小题3:According to the current policy, Chen Xianlian has to work ________ more years from now before her retirement
A．14
B． 9
C． 19
D． 15小题4:Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．All the Chinese people support the new policy.
B．The life expectancy of Chinese people is expected to rise to 73 during the next five years.
C．The retirement age in China will be 60 for men and 55 for female civil servants and 50 for female workers.
D．The government did not set a fixed timetable on the new policy.小题5:It can be inferred from the text that ________.
A．Chen Xianlian is a civil servant.
B．Delaying the retirement age is a very complicated issue.
C．Many countries have begun to delay the retirement age.
D．It may be harder for the university graduate to find a job in the future.
