The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and two other departments jointly issued an interim guideline on Wednesday, allowing workers to choose their retirement age.

Rather than being mandatory, the guideline gives people the option of choosing from a flexible range of three years, before or after the retirement age, when to retire.

Some also negatively portrayed the minimum contribution period for pensions as having been raised from 15 to 20 years. However, this adjustment will be gradually implemented starting from 2030. That means, for all those who are retiring anytime in the period from 2025 to 2029, the requirement for the minimum contribution period remains unchanged at 15 years. Workers who have already completed or are close to completing 15 years of contributions will not be affected.

Also, for workers retiring after 2030, the minimum contribution period will not abruptly increase to 20 years; it will increase gradually.

Older unemployed individuals face greater difficulties finding employment again. The decision takes into account their actual difficulties, relieves their concerns and ensures a smooth transition to retirement.

Moreover, workers engaged in special types of work defined by the State, such as underground, in high-temperature areas, particularly those engaging in heavy physical labor, and those working in high-altitude areas, may apply for early retirement if they meet the conditions.

It can be said that the delayed retirement policy is imbued with humanism. As the delayed retirement policy is officially implemented, we hope that the situation will further improve for Chinese workers.