I believe men and women should retire at the same age. First of all, international conventions agreed by the United Nations stipulate that women should have the equal rights at work. Different retirement ages no less than different recruitment standards count as discrimination against women. The difference should be abolished as part of the move to establish a fair, equal and harmonious society. Secondly, as the proportion of older people in the population grows, it imposes a heavier burden on government social provisions. Moreover, scientific research shows that women have longer life expectancy than men. So having the same retirement age for both sexes is an effective way to lessen the pressure on social spending, to raise family incomes and to improve the quality of life of senior citizens. Thirdly, with the development of science and technology, physical labor is being supplanted by intellectual works. This means that men's physical advantages are no longer so relevant. Sticking to different retirement age just wastes valuable human resources. Fourthly, the current situation is that many retired women do not leave the labor market. They continue to work while receiving their monthly pensions. But to optimize the use of labor resources, we should not reemploy women after retirement but raise the retirement age.

The author is a researcher with Institute of Social Development & Public Policy, Beijing Normal University.

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