THE Ministry of Labour and Social Security of China is considering delaying the retirement age of Chinese workers to alleviate the pressure on social welfare payments caused by the size of the country's aged population.

　　Hu Xiaoyi, a ministry spokesman, said that the current policy under which women faced retirement when they reached 50 had great room for reform. Many women considered 50 to be the prime time to be working.

　　Hu did not say when any adjustment in retirement ages would be made but said research was being conducted into the subject.

　　According to official statistics, citizens aged 60 or more accounted for nearly 11 per cent of China's

　　1.3 billion people.

　　China was focusing on improving its social insurance system to cope with the aging population, which will peak in the 2030s.

　　China's family planning policy over the last 30 years has meant that the number of people who retire each year now far outpaces the number of young people joining the workforce.

　　The government established a social security system for employees in urban areas across the country in 1997. Under the system, employees who reach the retiring age stipulated by law and who have paid their share of social security premiums for 15 years or more, shall be entitled to collect a basic pension each month. Last year, the average monthly pension was 621 yuan (US$75).

　　But the lack of fund accumulation in the period of the planned economy has left many personal accounts empty and the annual 300 to 400 billion yuan (US$36 to US$48 billion) of old-age insurance premiums collected in recent years is mainly used to guarantee the current 36 million enterprise retirees, said Hu.

　　"In urban areas, it takes three employees on average to pay premiums sufficient to support the pension payment for one retiree. When the aging peak comes, it may take 10 employees to back four or more retirees, if no significant measures are taken to set up stable fund reserves," Hu said.

　　In 2003, state budges at all levels contributed 54.4 billion yuan (US$6.55 billion) to basic old-age insurance funds, of which 47.4 billion yuan (US$5.7 billion) came from the central budget.

　　Beginning in 2001, the government began a pilot project in Northeast China's Liaoning Province aimed at replenishing personal accounts and accumulating funds.

　　So far, Liaoning has collected 11 billion yuan (US$1.33 billion) via personal accounts. Based on the success, the pilot project has been expanded to Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces this year and will later be promoted all over the country.

　　In addition to experimental reforms, China has also expanded the coverage of its basic old-age insurance.

　　Last year, the number of people participating in the basic old-age insurance scheme in China reached 155.06 million, 116.46 million of whom were employees.

　　"In the following period, employees from foreign-invested, private and other non-State-owned enterprises as well as those who are employed in a flexible manner will be the major targets to expand old-age insurance," officials said.

　　(Xinhua-Star)

　　By Xing Bao