China’s Pension Growth Dwindles as Population Ages, Workforce Shrinks

A pension shortfall is looming in China as the country is confronted by a rapidly aging population and slowing economic growth. The government has continued to raise the basic pension for urban retirees, as it has for nearly two decades, but is doing so by increasingly smaller increments, with the smallest ever addition made in 2023.

In May, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and Ministry of Finance announced a 3.8% per capita monthly increase in basic pensions for retirees from urban enterprises, public institutions, and government agencies, lower than the 4% increase made last year.