Dr. Armin Müller from project B05 "Inclusion and Benefit Dynamics in the Chinese Welfare Regime" was interviewed by WirtschaftsWoche. In the article "Altersvorsorge: Chinas Renten-Zeitbombe tickt" (paywall), he gives his expert opinion of how to deal with the ageing of Chinese society.
The article examines the financial sustainability of the Chinese pension system, which is precarious according to recent Chinese studies. In the People's Republic, similar to Western countries, there are debates about demographic change and an increase in the retirement age. The interview helped to contextualize the debate and shed light on important background information. For example, the retirement age is particularly low for women at 50 or 55. However, retired women often continue to play important social roles, such as looking after children, which enables the next generation of women to work full-time. Although raising the retirement age reduces the costs of contribution-financed pension insurance, it increases the need for childcare elsewhere. In addition, the system under discussion primarily covers employees in the formal urban sector. The vast majority of Chinese people do not benefit from a pension, which represents an independent livelihood, and is hardly considered in the discussion.
Contact:
Dr. Armin Müller
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy, Research IV and China Global Center
Campus Ring 1
28759 Bremen
Phone: +49 421 200-3473
E-Mail: armmueller@constructor.university
