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With the government officially confirming the long-speculated decision to raise the country’s retirement age, young Chinese workers are turning to sarcasm to cope with the seemingly endless toil that lies ahead
For stressed-out young Chinese workers, early retirement once seemed like a distant promise—one day they would leave behind the constant pressure of KPIs, aggravating office politics, and nagging bosses. However, a recent policy change has made such dreams even more remote. Starting in 2025 and due to be rolled out over the next 15 years, the statutory retirement age will be gradually increased from 60 to 63 for men, from 50 to 55 for women in blue-collar jobs, and from 55 to 58 for women in white-collar jobs.
Although the previous retirement age was set in the 1950s, when the national average life expectancy was a frightfully low 41 compared to nearly 79 today, it hasn’t stopped netizens from lamenting about having to work into their twilight years.
As soon as the policy was announced on September 13, a wave of debate quickly spread across the Chinese internet. Related topics and conversations on Weibo have collectively garnered over 1.5 billion views at the time of writing.
Discover more work-related slang and memes on the Chinese internet:
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While experts attempt to explain the comprehensive assessment of the social security system, population structure, and workforce supply that went into making the decision, senior workers are busy checking the policy’s accompanying age chart to see how many months or years their retirement has been delayed. “When do you retire?” or “你什么时候退休 (nǐ shénme shíhou tuìxiū)?” has now become a popular conversation starter.
On the other hand, those born after 1984, who are most affected by the policy change, begin to imagine what work life would be like in their 60s, giving rise to a sub-genre of online discussion dubbed “retirement literature (退休文学 tuìxiū wénxué).”
Some envision their future workplaces similar to that of a traditional multi-generation family unit:
Before, we had four generations living under one roof; now, we will have three generations working in one factory.
古有四代同堂，今有三代同厂。
With China’s rapidly aging society, many worry that their retirement could be further delayed in the future. As many working urban Chinese families rely on retired grandparents to care for their children, some are left to wonder if they will have to juggle work and family well into their 60s:
At 65, I will have to squeeze onto the subway to get to work after dropping off my grandchildren at school.
65岁送完孙子孙女上学，还要挤地铁上班。
Luckily, the optimists can still find a silver lining in working as senior citizens:
Sixty is actually the perfect age to work. No need to set an alarm in the morning—you don’t sleep much anyway, and you can clock in at the office by 5 a.m.
60岁其实是适合上班的年龄，早上闹钟就不用定了，觉少，5点就能到公司打卡。
I forgot to wear my hearing aid, so I couldn’t hear when my boss complained about me.
忘记戴助听器，就听不到老板吐槽我了。
With the senior citizen bus pass, commuting will be free and I can save on living costs.
老年卡坐公交不要钱，还省了通勤成本。
And while water cooler chat among colleagues today may include:
Where did you get your nails done?
你的美甲在哪儿做的?
Soon, the conversation might look like:
Where did you get your dentures made?
你的假牙在哪儿做的？
Future workplace relations between workers of vastly different generations was another hot topic online, with some imagining how such dynamics might work:
Boss, could you please approve my annual leave request? I used to hold you in my arms when you were a baby.
领导, 我的年假审批通过一下吧，你小时候我还抱过你呢。
Then, while taking a post-lunch nap, they may need to remind their young colleagues:
Calm down, I’m just taking a nap—no need to check my pulse!
别这样，我只是睡个午觉，不用摸我脉搏。
However, behind all the jokes and sarcastic comments lies the anxiety shared by young Chinese about the reality of a prolonged work life and potentially less enjoyable retirement. The joke that when they “finally pay off the mortgage, it’s time to move straight into a nursing home (终于还清房贷，住进了养老院 zhōngyú huánqīng fángdài, zhùjìnle yǎnglǎoyuàn)” may soon become a reality that many must ponder.
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