Beijing Resident Battles Serious Illness and Layoffs, Navigates Risky Early Retirement Process

In a time of battling a serious illness while facing layoffs, Xu Kang (alias), a post-80s individual from Beijing, spent nearly a year racing against the clock to catch the “last train” of the early retirement policy. The process of handling it was quite perilous at various checkpoints. Since January 1st of this year, the provision for early retirement due to illness is no longer applicable under the retirement policy. Xu Kang’s process of applying for early retirement had its own unique challenges and timeliness. He shared his handling process on social media platforms.

Recently, the topic of “post-80s spending a year to obtain retirement certificate” trended on social media platforms, sparking discussions.

Last year, Xu Kang, who was diagnosed with a serious illness, encountered company layoffs. After leaving his job, he began the process of applying for early retirement. It wasn’t until February of this year that the 45-year-old Xu Kang completed the retirement procedures.

Xu Kang recorded the process of applying for early retirement and the difficulties he encountered into a video, which he shared on social media platforms in hopes of providing some insight for netizens. The video garnered 2.5 million views on a certain platform after its release.

According to a report by Jiupai News on February 18th, during an interview, Xu Kang expressed his hope that his video could be of help to others, whether in practical or emotional value.

As he recounted, born in 1980, he started working after graduating from university in 2002, having worked three different jobs over 22 years. His most recent position was in content operations at a management role in a major company in Beijing.

Around February 2024, he began to sense a negative atmosphere within the company, noticing that the people who hired him and those at his level had all left. Eventually, the department he was in ceased to exist.

In April, after leaving his job, he went home to rest and started the process of applying for early retirement at the same time.

He learned that he was not eligible for regular retirement due to age but could apply for early retirement due to illness. The application criteria included having paid social security for at least 15 years and having a medical condition that met the retirement standards, which needed to be certified by a hospital and confirmed by the labor appraisal committee (labor capacity assessment department) as being completely incapable of working. The application process entailed preparing documentation, undergoing labor capacity assessment, submitting the application, waiting for approval, and finally receiving the pension.

However, the entire process was extremely complex. Firstly, to initiate retirement, his records had to undergo review, but since he retained his first job’s files after resigning, instead of storing them at the job market, it resulted in him being considered a person without records.

Additionally, due to the rushed departure from his job, lacking proper handover procedures, he discovered that some documents were missing from his file, making it impossible to verify the exact date of his resignation. Luckily, his former colleagues were still at the unit, making it easier for him to supplement the missing documents.

The most challenging part came later on. During his first job, he worked for two years in the organization without contributing to social security, but it could be accounted for as equivalent payment. However, upon reviewing his social security payment records, he discovered that his second job’s previous unit had not paid his social security for almost two years.

He reached out to the former unit to provide certification and make up for the social security contributions, but the leadership had changed, and the current staff did not recognize him nor acknowledge him as a former employee. He learned that the unit was currently not doing well economically, and making up for the social security contributions had to consider inflation and other factors. If a few hundred yuan were spent on social security contributions in previous years, making up for it now could cost tens of thousands of yuan.

He had to seek assistance from the labor arbitration department to confirm his employment relationship with the former unit, but the process was lengthy, with a one-two-month wait for a court hearing. In August, the arbitration court ruled in his favor. He then contacted the labor inspection department to oversee the matters regarding the social security contributions, which required a 60-working-day process.

Amidst this, news came that starting from January 1st, 2025, the provision for early retirement due to illness would no longer apply, and at that point, he could only receive disability allowances.

At that time, community workers called to inform him about the new policy and advised him to expedite his application if needed. However, by November of last year, he had not completed the retirement due to illness process and was very anxious.

He made every effort to urge the former unit repeatedly, from March to December, enduring almost half a year, until he finally saw results. However, the social security from his second job was only completed on December 7th last year, leaving him with just over 20 days until January 1st, 2025.

He submitted the documents just before New Year’s Day, unsure if additional materials were needed. He had spent a year on this, not knowing if he would ultimately be successful.

Recently, he finally obtained his retirement certificate. Reflecting on the process of applying for early retirement, it was truly a rollercoaster ride.

For the average person, handling retirement matters is quite cumbersome, especially when dealing with health issues. Xu Kang experienced anxiety, affecting his sleep since the disease he suffered from required proper rest. He knew that if early retirement did not go through, it would affect other aspects, like not being able to access the housing provident fund.

He mentioned that during the year of handling retirement, he also went through a period of low spirits. In the grueling waiting period, he felt anxious and depressed, worrying that it might not work out.

Now that he has completed the process of early retirement, he posted two videos in two days. Regarding his health condition, he is currently undergoing continuous treatment. When asked about his future plans, Xu Kang expressed his hope to live a few more years. His children are still young.

He believed that the reason his video gained popularity was due to its involvement in topics concerning people’s livelihood, which garnered more attention from the public.