China will "gradually raise" its retirement age for the first time since the 1950s, as the country confronts an aging population and a dwindling pension budget.

Axar.az reports that the top legislative body on Friday approved proposals to raise the statutory retirement age from 50 to 55 for women in blue-collar jobs, and from 55 to 58 for females in white-collar jobs.

Men will see an increase from 60 to 63.

China's current retirement age is among the lowest in the world.

According to the plan passed on Friday, the change will set in from 1 January 2025, with the respective retirement ages raised every few months over the next 15 years, said Chinese state media.

Retiring before the statutory age will not be allowed, state news agency Xinhua reported, although people can delay their retirement by no more than three years.

Starting 2030, employees will also have to make more contributions to the social security system to receive pensions. By 2039, they would have to clock 20 years of contributions to access their pensions.