Urban residents in Tianjin have to delay their retirement if "work requires", according to a local regulation.

The temporary regulation on urban retirees said that urban employees in Tianjin would have to stay in their jobs if they were required to do so, even though they had met the retirement requirements.

The regulation, passed by the city's human resources and social security authority, said that employees whose retirement is postponed have to continue paying social insurance until retirement.

A suggestion made earlier by the national human resources authority to postpone the mandatory age for retirement sparked heated discussion.

The current national regulation states that male urban employees are qualified to receive a pension at 60 at the latest, and female employees at 55, if they have made social insurance payments for at least 15 years.