China starting next year will raise its retirement age for workers, which is now among the youngest in the world's major economies.

The extension was considered long overdue in a country facing a shrinking population and an aging work force.

The policy change will be carried out over 15 years, with the retirement age for men raised to 63 years, and 55 and 58 years for women depending on their jobs. The current retirement age is 60 for men, and 50 for women in blue-collar jobs and 55 for women in white-collar jobs.

The policy will be implemented starting in January next year, according to the announcement from China's legislature reported by state broadcaster CCTV.

“We have more people coming into the retirement age, and so the pension fund is (facing) high pressure, that's why I think it's now time to act seriously,” said Xiujian Peng, a senior research fellow at Victoria University in Australia who studies China's population and its ties to the economy.

The change will take effect progressively based on a person's birthdate.

For example, a man born in January 1971 could retire at the age of 61 years and 7 months in August 2032, according to the chart released along with the policy. A man born in May 1971 could retire at the age of 61 years and 8 months in January of 2033.