Jurisprudential Interpretation and Systemic Improve-ment of the Statutory Retirement Age
In response to the challenges of an aging population,the long-dis-cussed reform of raising the retirement age has finally been implemented.The statu-tory retirement age will gradually evolve from"men at 60,female workers at 50,and female officials at 55"to"men at 63,female workers at 55,and female officials at 58".However,several issues remain even after the delayed retirement age is intro-duced:First,the retirement age for female employees remains significantly lower than that for male employees,leading to disadvantages such as limitations on women's right to work.Second,there are still disparities in the retirement age among female employees,which not only overlook the protection needs of male manual laborers but also cause internal inequities among female employees.Third,although a flexible retirement system has been tentatively established,it still needs further improvement and implementation.Fourth,while overage employees'rights and interests of labor are formally recognized,issues concerning labor disputes related to them remain unre-solved and lack unified handling.Given these problems,it is necessary to explore the legal principles underlying the statutory retirement age to provide a theoretical founda-tion for improving related systems.To be specific,firstly,reaching the statutory retire-ment age should not signify the termination of the protection of the right to work or the deprivation of an employee's eligibility as an employee.China's labor law does not establish an upper age limit for employees,and removing an employee's eligibil-ity solely due to reaching the statutory retirement age constitutes a clear case of age discrimination.Secondly,although Article 21 of the Regulations on the Implementa-tion of the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that reach-ing the statutory retirement age is a reason for terminating the labor contract,this pro-vision completely disregards the true expression of intent of both parties to the con-tract.Therefore,reaching the statutory retirement age should not be equated with the automatic termination of the labor contract.Finally,from the perspective of social insurance law,the statutory retirement age should be regarded only as the standard age for receiving basic pension benefits for urban employees.Based on the jurisprudential analysis of the statutory retirement age,the following measures need to be taken to improve the relevant system:First,we should unify the retirement age for female employees and meanwhile narrow the gender gap in retirement age.Second,we should resolve the conflict between labor contracts and the statutory retirement age by incorporating the statutory retirement age into the labor standards framework and abol-ishing the provision that stipulates the reaching of the retirement age as a reason for the termination of labor contracts.Instead,the retirement age can be regarded as a reason for the dissolution of contract while balancing the interests of both employees and employers.Third,we should refine the flexible retirement system,establish corre-sponding reward and punishment mechanisms,and differentiate the retirement age between manual laborers and intellectual workers.Fourth,we should confirm and clarify overage employees'right to work,establish a spectrum of employment rela-tionships,and ensure the protection of their rights and interests in areas such as wages,working hours,rest and leave,and compensation.
statutory retirement ageflexible retirement systemoverage employeesthe right to worklabor contracts
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维普
