晚三年退休
What is the retirement age in China?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
在中国，很长一段时间里，男人六十岁退休，女人五十岁或者五十五岁退休。这个规定从上世纪五十年代开始，用了七十多年。
二零二四年九月，国家决定：从二零二五年一月一号开始，退休年龄要慢慢提高。男人最后会到六十三岁，女人会到五十五岁或者五十八岁。
为什么要改？最主要的原因是中国的老人越来越多。现在，六十岁以上的人已经超过了总人口的五分之一。同时，年轻人越来越少，大家也比以前活得更长。领养老金的人多了，交钱的人少了，压力就大了。
会不会一下子多工作三年？不会。新规定改得很慢：每过几个月，退休年龄才推迟一个月，整个过程要十五年。所以，一九七六年九月以后出生的男人，才会真的晚整整三年退休。
人们的看法不太一样。有的人觉得，自己身体还很好，多工作几年没问题。也有的人担心，年纪大了更难找工作，或者没有时间帮孩子带孙子了。
在你的国家，人们一般多少岁退休？你希望自己多少岁退休？
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 男人 | nánrén | man; men |
| 女人 | nǚrén | woman |
| 或者 | huòzhě | or |
| 用 | yòng | to use; use; usefulness |
| 国家 | guójiā | country; nation; state |
| 决定 | juédìng | to decide; decision |
| 提高 | tígāo | to raise; to increase; to improve |
| 最后 | zuìhòu | finally; in the end; last; final |
| 主要 | zhǔyào | main; major; mainly; mostly |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old person; the elderly |
| 以上 | yǐshàng | the above; the foregoing |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before; previously; formerly |
English (for the teacher)
In China, for a long time, men retired at sixty and women at fifty or fifty-five. The rule began in the 1950s and lasted more than seventy years.
In September 2024, the state decided that from 1 January 2025 the retirement age would slowly rise. Men will eventually reach sixty-three, and women fifty-five or fifty-eight.
Why change it? The main reason is that China has more and more old people. People over sixty are now more than a fifth of the whole population. At the same time there are fewer and fewer young people, and everyone lives longer than before. More people drawing pensions and fewer people paying in means more pressure.
Will people suddenly have to work three more years? No. The rule changes very slowly: only every few months is the retirement age pushed back by one month, and the whole process takes fifteen years. So only men born in or after September 1976 will really retire a full three years later.
People see it differently. Some feel they are still healthy and a few more years of work is no problem. Others worry that it is harder to find work when you are older, or that they won’t have time to help look after their grandchildren.
In your country, at what age do people usually retire? At what age would you like to retire?