What are the voluntary and flexible provisions in the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on implementing the gradual extension of the statutory retirement age announced on the 13th? How to operate it specifically? Qi Tao, Director of the Pension Insurance Department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, gave a detailed explanation on the "China Economic Roundtable" large-scale all media interview program launched by Xinhua News Agency on the 13th. Qi Tao stated that adhering to voluntariness and flexibility is to meet the diverse needs of workers and reflects respect for individual wishes. Employees can choose flexible early or delayed retirement according to their own wishes and actual situation, and the maximum time for early or delayed retirement shall not exceed 3 years. After the reform, the retirement age of employees has expanded from a rigid node to an elastic range, increasing their freedom of choice Qi Tao said. According to the reform measures, voluntary flexible early retirement should be chosen, and the retirement age should not be lower than the original statutory retirement age. For example, for a male employee born in September 1968, the legal retirement age after the reform is 61 years old. If he chooses to "bounce" forward 3 years to the age of 58, it will be lower than the original legal retirement age of 60, so he can only retire early at the age of 60 at the earliest. Qi Tao stated that the reform measures also emphasize that during implementation, it is not allowed to violate the wishes of employees, illegally force or indirectly force employees to choose their retirement age, which fully reflects the principles of voluntariness and flexibility. (New Society)