Publisher's Synopsis
With the implementation of an open-door reform policy, and accelerating industrialisation, China is witnessing a momentous demographic shift. This social restructuring of the population, characterised by the rapid ageing of its citizens, will lead to a variety of urgent problems, among which ageing and retirement remain at the core. China is different from the West in that it is not what sociologists call 'an employee society'; thus, ageing does not necessarily mean retirement, and vice versa. This problem appears to be more complicated. It is often determined by the economic conditions and authoritative operational flexibility that underwrite the ideologies of convention and power. China is a politically hierarchical, economically polarised, and culturally diverse society. For this social actuality, this monograph explores various conceptualisations of ageing and retirement in China based on the hierarchical social status imposed by arbitrary political power.;This monograph discusses five aspects of ageing and retirement: types of ageing groups and the conceptualisations of retirement, eligibility for retirement and its implications, operational flexibility and patterns of retirement, differences in pension and social welfare, and issues of retirement and their impact on research about ageing. This monograph concludes that ageing and retirement are two relatively independent concepts in China. The majority of China's population is not yet eligible for retirement, and those who benefit from the retirement privileges are granted diverse pension incomes and social welfare. This monograph is part of the global ageing project cosponsored by the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging and Community and the University's Asian Programs.
