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"Retiring before the statutory age will not be allowed, state news agency Xinhua reported"

I'm curious what this really means - just that people can't pull from the retirement pension before the statutory age, similar to social security in the US? Or is it somehow stricter? There are certainly unemployed people in China. Are there restrictions against a self-funded early retirement?

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Huh I never thought about it from that angle, I dunno. The older people in our family who retired, were forced to retire at the retirement age (e.g. 55).

(Note, obviously, not everyone actually retires at the retirement age, you just legally can't sign contracts for work, so you do it under the table)

I guess if you're technical, you don't get pension until the mandatory age. But the minimum working period is like 15 years or something. At least before.

I have no idea what it means now.

Of course it’s the former. However, you need to contribute over a threshold of years before getting the benefits. This is currently 15, and will gradually prolong alongside with the retirement age, to I think 20.

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