Retirement in China: 323 million people over 60, a later retirement age and a growing silver economy

Updated on August 17, 2026

China has reached its aging milestones decades earlier than once forecast, and the policy response, a later retirement age and care built around the home, is reshaping one of the world’s largest consumer groups.

By Daxue Consulting

At the end of 2025, China had 323.38 million people aged 60 and over, about 23% of a population of 1.405 billion. Of these, 223.65 million were aged 65 and over (National Bureau of Statistics (国家统计局), January 2026). In 2010, the 60-and-over group numbered about 178 million, around 13% of the population, and forecasts at the time expected about 330 million only by 2050.

China started its first increase of the statutory retirement age in decades on January 1, 2025, and its basic pension insurance now covers more than one billion people. This analysis of retirement in China examines the demographic trend, the reform, pensions and care, and what they imply for international brands serving older consumers.

Retirement in China: key figures

Exhibit 1: An aging population with a widening support base

Sources: as listed in each row; table designed by Daxue Consulting.

China is already an aging society

There are now fewer than three people aged 16 to 59, the working-age group in Chinese statistics, for each person over 60 (NBS). At the 2010 census, the ratio was above five. The National Health Commission expects the 60-and-over group to pass 400 million, more than 30% of the population, around 2035 (China News Service (中国新闻网), September 2022). With 7.92 million births in 2025 (NBS), the trend will not reverse in the coming decades.

The retirement reform raises the age slowly

On September 13, 2024, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the reform, which started on January 1, 2025 and is phased in over 15 years (China Daily (中国日报), September 2024):

• Men: from 60 to 63, one month later every four months.
• Women in office or technical jobs: from 55 to 58, at the same pace.
• Women in production jobs: from 50 to 55, one month later every two months.
• Contributions: the minimum rises from 15 to 20 years, by six months a year, from 2030.
• Flexibility: people can retire up to three years earlier, but not before the former age, or later by agreement with their employer.

For brands, the first years of retirement, often the years of travel and new hobbies, will come later, and more people in their late 50s and early 60s will still earn a salary.

Pensions cover more people, but gaps remain

Basic pension insurance covered more than one billion people at the end of 2025, and the country had 395,000 elderly care institutions and facilities of all kinds (Guangming Daily, citing CCTV). Pension levels still differ widely: former civil servants and urban employees receive much higher pensions than rural residents. Chinese seniors therefore form very different consumer groups, from affluent urban retirees with property and savings to rural and low-income seniors who depend on family support.

Aging at home is the Chinese model

China’s elderly care follows the “9073” pattern: about 90% of seniors age at home, 7% rely on community services and 3% live in institutions (China News Service, June 2026). Applied to 323 million people, 3% is still close to 10 million seniors in institutions, but the home is where most of the spending happens. Elderly care is therefore developing around the home and neighborhood: community canteens, home visits, day care, home adaptation and smart devices. Senior residences exist, especially premium ones in large cities, but remain a minority choice. Many Western care models start with residences; in China, the larger market is what helps an older person live well at home.

A new generation of silver consumers

Many of today’s retirees were born in the 1960s, lived through the economic boom, own property and use smartphones daily. QuestMobile counted 351 million mobile internet users aged 50 and over in November 2025, each online about 135 hours a month, or more than four hours a day (QuestMobile via Digitaling, 2025). Their spending is moving from treatment to prevention, with growing demand for functional food, Traditional Chinese Medicine and wearable health technology. Platforms such as Taobao have launched “elder modes” and dedicated hotlines.

Exhibit 2: Silver economy segments in China

Source: Daxue Consulting analysis.

Spending also goes to senior universities (老年大学), dance, photography and short videos, long winter stays in Hainan and Yunnan, and grandchildren, often a large share of senior budgets.

How retirement in China has changed over the past decade

Exhibit 3: From a demographic warning to a large consumer group

Daxue Take: implications for silver economy brands

China’s 323 million people over 60 are close to the population of the United States, but they are not one group. A retired Shanghai engineer who travels to Europe has little in common with a rural retiree on a basic pension. Chinese companies, from appliance makers to insurers, have already made the silver economy a priority.

1. For brands targeting older consumers, the largest group is active people aged 55 to 70 with money, time and smartphones. Segmentation by lifestyle, income and health is likely to work better than segmentation by age.
2. For home, health-tech and appliance brands, with about 90% of seniors aging at home, home care, safety and monitoring products form a larger market than residences.
3. For health and nutrition brands, older Chinese consumers invest in staying healthy; messages about energy, mobility and balance tend to resonate more than messages about illness.
4. For all silver economy brands, adult children often choose and pay for products and services for their parents, which makes them a second target.
5. For travel and leisure brands, the reform delays the first years of retirement and keeps more people in work into their early 60s, which may shift demand for long trips later.

Questions for leadership teams: Which senior segment does the brand serve? Does the offer work at home? Who pays, the senior or the adult child?

What to watch next

• Implementation milestones of the retirement age reform.
• National and local pension adjustments for 2026.
• Growth of community and home care services in large cities.
• Senior-friendly features on e-commerce and travel platforms.

FAQ about retirement in China

What is the retirement age in China? Since January 1, 2025, the retirement age is rising gradually over 15 years: from 60 to 63 for men, from 55 to 58 for women in office or technical jobs, and from 50 to 55 for women in production jobs.

How many elderly people are there in China? At the end of 2025, China had 323.38 million people aged 60 and over, about 23% of the population, and 223.65 million aged 65 and over.

How many people have a pension in China? More than one billion people were insured in China’s basic pension insurance at the end of 2025.

Where do most Chinese seniors live as they age? At home. Under China’s “9073” pattern, about 90% of seniors age at home, 7% rely on community services and 3% live in institutions, which is why community and home care services are growing fastest.

What do Chinese retirees spend money on? Health and prevention, travel, learning and leisure, home safety and smart devices, financial products, and their grandchildren.

About Daxue Consulting

Daxue Consulting is a market research and strategy consulting firm focused on China. For silver economy brands, Daxue Consulting segments Chinese seniors by lifestyle and income, interviews seniors and their adult children, tests products and services for home care, health and travel, and maps players city by city. Related analysis: Chinese middle class and diapers in China. Learn more in the China Silver Economy Report 2026, our consumer research and business strategy services, or contact our team.

Author: Daxue Consulting