Increasing the official retirement age raises issues involving fairness in the elderly care sector, balancing pension funds, and the capability of the society to support the elderly group. Only by revising the retirement age in a fair and legal way and launching reforms on the back of social consensus, can we achieve a "multi-win" solution.

At a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress annual session on March 10, Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, revealed the draft plan to gradually raise the official retirement age. The ministry plans to put forward the policy in 2017, after reporting it to the central government and seeking public opinions for it in 2016. The plan will be put in place in a gradual way, as just several months will be added to the retirement age every year until the new retirement age is reached. The final official retirement age will be achieved five years after it was proposed. Yin called it a "multi-win" policy, but stressed the importance of seeking the consensus of the public.

Introducing a timetable for raising the retirement age will help relieve the pressure on pension funds. Meanwhile, the policy means the working population increases, which will help resolve the problem of a shrinking working population. The decrease of the working population has pushed up labor costs since 2013, eating into the competitive advantage of "made in China" products. Gradually raising the retirement age would achieve a "multi-win" outcome.

However, although overall benefits can potentially be gained from such a policy, there is the problem of individuals being adversely affected by it. Under the current system, the retirees can enjoy proper elder care after reaching the official retirement age, but the delay of retirement will increase workers' payout of pension money. In addition, robust calculations of how the act will balance pension funds is lacking.

Therefore, it is necessary to reach a society-wide consensus before proceeding with the policy. It is a public policy related to the benefits of every member in the society, and it needs to be fully discussed with opinions sought from all sectors to ensure different groups' demands are met. Common interests must be found, instead of just mapping out the timetable.

So, an orderly procedure is needed when laying out the policy. It will be reported to the central government to gain approval and public opinion will be solicited in 2016, and it will be put forward one year later. The National People's Congress should be involved in this process. After seeking the public opinion and undergoing discussion, the plan should be delivered to the NPC for a vote. Only then can the policy gain public support and be carried out smoothly.

Also, more details are needed to better convince the public. For example, there must be supervision of the pension money as a government fund, to ensure that the colossal amount of money is put to proper use. To address that problem, the fund should be managed centrally rather than by individual provincial areas. It will make it easier for the public to collect the money, meanwhile putting the fund to good use. Operating the fund on a national level will also address the problem of shortages and relieve public concerns.

Also, market forces need to be introduced in the investment of the funds. Under the current system, the annual yield of the pension fund is not allowed to exceed 2 percent to ensure the fund's safety. But it is necessary to invest the balance of the pension fund, as long-term strategic capital, in the reliable and properly rewarded market to deal with the possible funding shortage in future.

Furthermore, we need to look into how we can invest more in our human resources to generate more wealth and therefore, more pension funds for the elderly. If workers could increase their productivity through greater knowledge and skill training, how much could the capability of society to support the elderly be raised?

These complex issues must be addressed before the plan moves forward, and only by achieving social consensus can we put doubts to rest and ensure a "multi-win" solution.

An editorial of The Beijing News

Translated by Wang Zhenghua