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China is prioritizing protecting the rights of elderly workers and respecting their willingness to work as it began gradually raising the statutory retirement age on Wednesday.

从2025年1月1日起，中国开始渐进式延迟法定退休年龄。在此过程中，中国优先保障老年职工的权益，并尊重他们的工作意愿。

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued an interim guideline outlining operational measures for workers to choose their retirement age.

人力资源社会保障部、中央组织部、财政部三部门联合发布《实施弹性退休制度暂行办法》（以下简称《办法》），概述了职工选择退休年龄的操作措施。

The new policy stems from a decision approved by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in September to raise the statutory retirement age for men to 63 and for women to either 55 or 58, depending on their occupation.

该新政策源于9月《全国人民代表大会常务委员会关于实施渐进式延迟法定退休年龄的决定》（以下简称《决定》）。《决定》提出，依据职业性质，将男职工的法定退休年龄延迟到63周岁，将女职工的法定退休年龄延迟到55周岁、58周岁。

According to that decision, from Wednesday, male workers age 60 and female workers age 55 can ask for their retirement age to be extended one month every four months. Female workers who are 50 years old can ask for a one-month retirement extension every two months. By doing so, the retirement ages will increase to 63 for men and 55 or 58 for women in 15 years.

根据《决定》，从2025年1月1日起，60周岁男职工和55周岁女职工可每4个月申请延长退休年龄1个月。50周岁女职工可每2个月申请延长退休年龄1个月。这样一来，15年后，男职工退休年龄将延迟至63周岁，女职工将延迟至55周岁、58周岁。

The guideline excludes those who reached the previous statutory retirement age before Tuesday.

2024年12月31日前已经达到原法定退休年龄的人员，不适用本《办法》。

Once the age increase is fully implemented, workers will be able to voluntarily retire up to three years earlier than the new statutory age, provided they have met the minimum pension contribution requirement, which is currently 15 years but will gradually rise to 20 years by 2030.

一旦延迟退休政策全面实施，职工达到养老金最低缴费年限（目前为15年，从2030起将逐步提高至20年），可以自愿选择比