BEIJING, March 4-- For millions of Chinese, retirement is still a long while off, however,their concerns for it have arrived a lot sooner than expected

BEIJING, March 4-- For millions of Chinese, retirement is still a long while off, however,their concerns for it have arrived a lot sooner than expected

Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, on Monday announced that this year China looks set to raise the retirement age to offset the pressures brought about by a shrinking work force and an aging society

In China there were 220 million aged 60 or over in 2015. Currently the retirement age for men is 60, while for women it is 55 for white-collar workers and 50 for blue-collar employees. The retirement age has not progressed in line with economic and social developments

"On the one hand I would prefer to retiring earlier to have fun with my friends," she said."On the other, postponing retirement would increase my pension," she added, "It will be in time to look after my grandchildren as well."

Guo’s mixed feelings might be unfounded. According to Yin, the changes will be phased in over a period of time with only slight annual increases, which means the early recipients of the policy will have their retirement postponed by a shorter period

"For example, if you’re a man turning 60 when the policy takes effect, your retirement will be postponed by just three months," he explained

Also, according to Jin Weigang, a researcher with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the plan is likely to be implemented in 2022 after a five-year transitional period

"Postponing retirement will limit employment opportunities for the younger generation,"said Deng Dasong, a social security researcher at Wuhan University, adding that 30 percent of every 10,000 job vacancies generated in China every year are a result of retirement

"Older employees might have lost their edge before they retire, which may put their jobs in jeopardy anyway."

This has also raised questions over supportive measures for the policy, including the two-child policy, which could add to unemployment and put more pressure on the younger generation

On the other side, others have played down the problems that postponed retirement might bring

"In most cases, job vacancies suitable for the young are not the positions held by senior employees," said Su Hainan, vice president of the China Association For Labor Studies