China to raise retirement age as pressure on pension fund rises

Military delegates arrive for the opening of the annual full session of the National People's Congress, the country's parliament, at Tiananmen Square in Beijing March 5, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's pension fund will come under tremendous pressure to break even in coming years and as such, the government needs to gradually raise the official retirement age to salvage the finances, a top official said on Tuesday.

Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, said the government will gradually raise the official retirement age, which is as low as 50 for some female workers, but stressed that any policy changes will be phased in over five years.