China is facing an 18 trillion yuan (2,8 Bio. Dollar) pension funding gap that will become larger as the country’s population ages, according to one of the authors of a new report jointly produced by a research team at the Bank of China and researchers at Fudan University. Liao Shuping (廖淑萍), one of the authors of the report from the Bank of China, told Economic Information Daily that China could see a shortfall of 18.3 trillion yuan in pension funding by 2013.
The report stated that due to an aging population, China’s pension system will place a very large burden on government finances. The authors of the report suggested that among other measures, the government should consider pushing back the current minimum retirement age and also push ahead with reforms to the country’s public institutions to help relieve the pressure.
At the beginning of this month, officials from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said publicly that an adjustment to the age of retirement is inevitable. These officials also indicated that the ministry will put forward an official policy recommendation related to delaying the age at which people can begin to receive their pension at an appropriate time.
