Editorial: How to Make Retirement a Reality for China’s Migrant Workers

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Migrant workers in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, on June 10, 2022. Despite reaching retirement age, the country's first-generation workers are learning that they can't afford to be unemployed. Photo: VCG

China’s first-generation of migrant workers, a group generally made up of rural residents who found jobs in cities in the 1980s and 1990s, have begun to reach the retirement age, yet they cannot afford to retire.

Along with the inevitable physical decline that comes with aging, they face an array of harsh realities. As their source of income are growing more limited, their worries for the future are increasing, including a weak social security system, nearly non-existent unemployment insurance, and constant concerns over health care and retirement.