The Chinese government plans to ease pressure on the strained pension system by gradually raising retirement ages for the nation's workers between 2017 and 2022. Yin Weimin, head of  China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said that eligibility ages for men, women, urban workers and farmers will be raised step-by-step by adding "several months every year" to the age when pension payments can begin. Speaking to the media recently on the sidelines of the NPC session in Beijing, he said a complete plan for raising the retirement age would be drafted by his ministry in 2015 and submitted to the State Council next year. The first eligibility adjustment is likely to come in 2017.