Analysis of Factors Influencing Delayed Retirement Intention among Female Employees in Beijing ()
1. Introduction
China’s retirement system is the most fundamental and crucial arrangement within the current pension insurance system. Despite the current retirement system promoting the sustainable development of the social security system to a certain extent, there exists a gap between this arrangement and the reality, especially with the rapid economic and social development and the increasingly severe aging issue (Yang & Wei, 2024). Currently, the statutory retirement age for male employees in China is 60 years old, while for female cadres and female workers, it is 55 years old and 50 years old, respectively (Zhao, Jin, & Chen, 2024). Delayed retirement refers to moderately extending the statutory retirement age of employees from the current prescribed level, although specific implementation plans have not yet been officially introduced (Zhou & Xu, 2022). Research on delayed retirement can be categorized into three aspects: firstly, from the government’s perspective, delayed retirement is believed to alleviate the contradiction in labor supply, with its welfare effects outweighing the negative ones. Hence, the government suggests integrating delayed retirement with other policies, albeit acknowledging its potential impact on youth employment (Liu, 2022). Secondly, from the perspective of enterprises, delayed retirement is seen as beneficial for reducing labor costs, enhancing profitability, and thereby promoting business development. However, it may also decrease the vitality of human capital within enterprises (Yang & Ye, 2022). Lastly, from an individual standpoint, delayed retirement can increase personal income and alleviate economic pressure, but it may also extend individual working hours, potentially lowering the quality of family life (Yuan & Jin, 2023). Female employees in China exhibit a high labor force participation rate, yet considering their physical condition and the additional societal roles they often bear, this group demonstrates considerable flexibility regarding retirement age (Hu & Zhu, 2022). Therefore, if delayed retirement policies are genuinely implemented for female employees, they will significantly impact the sustainable development of China’s pension insurance system.
In recent years, in order to gradually raise the retirement age and alleviate the impact of population aging on the economic and social development of China, the state has introduced a series of policy measures. Since May 2016, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has successively issued policy documents such as “Opinions on Implementing the Gradual Delay of the Statutory Retirement Age” (Beijing, 2016), studying and formulating policies for the gradual delay of retirement age, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of delayed retirement age policies. Therefore, studying the willingness of delayed retirement and its influencing factors from the perspective of female employees is of great theoretical and practical significance. Focusing on the research of delayed retirement intention among female employees in Beijing is mainly based on the following two considerations: First, as the national political, cultural, scientific and technological innovation, and international communication center, Beijing possesses a large number of high-level talents and high-income groups. Its unique social background and cultural environment may lead to differences in the delayed retirement intention of female employees compared to other regions, thus necessitating targeted research. Second, the research results can not only be applied to the work practices in Beijing but also provide valuable references for other regions.
This study investigates the delayed retirement intentions and influencing factors among female employees in Beijing. Firstly, the aim is to understand and grasp the current status of delayed retirement intentions among female employees. Secondly, the study analyzes the main influencing factors restricting the delayed retirement intentions of female employees, clarifies the impact effects of each factor, and reveals the main problems encountered by female employees in Beijing during the process of delaying retirement. Based on the current situation of the retirement system in Beijing and the research results of relevant policies, this paper proposes corresponding suggestions for the existing problems in China’s pension insurance system and delayed retirement policies. It is hoped that through these suggestions, factual evidence and references can be provided for relevant theoretical research and practices, thereby promoting the smooth implementation of delayed retirement policies.
2. Method
2.1. Data Collection
The subjects of this study are female employees in the Beijing area, with data primarily collected through questionnaires designed based on existing research on factors influencing women’s intentions to delay retirement (Xu, 2021). To ensure targeted data collection and accurate reflection of issues, interviews and pilot surveys were conducted before the formal questionnaire survey. Interviews were conducted with 10 female employees from various industries, and 78 responses were collected from the pilot survey. The questionnaire was revised based on the issues identified in the interviews and pilot survey, and the final questionnaire content was determined.
The formal survey was conducted through electronic questionnaires, which comprised the following sections: The first section covered individual characteristics, including residential status, age, education level, and health status. The second section addressed basic family information, including marital status and spouse’s employment status. The third section focused on work conditions, including the nature of the employing organization and the stability of income sources. The fourth section surveyed the willingness to support delayed retirement policies. The data collection employed random sampling, aiming to include female employees from various types of enterprises across different districts in Beijing. A total of 558 questionnaires were distributed. After data cleaning, which involved removing invalid responses, 547 valid questionnaires were retrieved, resulting in an effective response rate of 98.03%. The questionnaire data were then subjected to descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis using SPSS 27.0.
2.2. Sample Distribution
The sample distribution in this study is as follows: 52.29% of the respondents hold Beijing household registration, while 47.71% do not. The distribution of age and education level is relatively even. Other distribution characteristics are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Sample distribution.
Item |
Category |
Percentage (%) |
Item |
Category |
Percentage (%) |
Hukou Status |
Beijing |
52.29% |
Nature of Workplace |
Public-Private Partnership |
10.60% |
Non-Beijing |
47.71% |
Sino-Foreign Joint Venture |
3.11% |
Age |
18 - 25 years |
10.05% |
Social Organizations |
12.25% |
26 - 40 years |
23.22% |
Foreign-funded Enterprises |
28.34% |
41 - 45 years |
22.49% |
Private Enterprises |
32.72% |
46 - 50 years |
19.56% |
Collective Enterprises |
12.98% |
51 - 55 years |
18.28% |
Income Source Stability |
Very Stable |
15.17% |
Over 55 years |
6.40% |
Relatively Stable |
25.59% |
Education Level |
Junior High and Below |
18.10% |
Average |
31.09% |
High School/Technical School |
12.43% |
Not Very Stable |
13.16% |
Junior College/Technical Institute |
21.76% |
Very Unstable |
14.99% |
Bachelor’s Degree |
36.20% |
Delayed
Retirement
Intention |
Supportive of
Delayed Retirement |
40.59% |
Master’s Degree and Above |
11.51% |
Spouse’s
Employment Status |
Yes |
48.81% |
Not Supportive of
Delayed Retirement |
59.41% |
No |
51.19% |
3. Results
3.1. Descriptive Statistics
This study’s variable selection, as shown in Table 2, is guided by previous research (Xu, 2021). The explanatory variables are chosen to be household registration in Beijing, health status, spouse’s employment status, and stability of income sources, which are identified as the primary factors influencing the willingness to delay retirement. The dependent variable is the intention to delay retirement.
Table 2. Descriptive statistics.
Variable |
Variable Assignment |
Variable Types |
Mean/Proportion |
Std. |
Delayed Retirement Intention |
1 = Support; 0 = Not support |
Categorical Variable |
1 = 40.59%; 2 = 59.41% |
— |
Household Registration in Beijing |
Yes = 1; No = 0 |
Categorical Variable |
1 = 52.29%; 2 = 47.71% |
— |
Health Condition |
Very Bad = 1; Bad = 2; Neutral = 3; Good = 4; Very Good = 5 |
Interval Variable |
3.01 |
0.636 |
Spouse’s Employment Status |
Yes = 1; No = 0 |
Categorical Variable |
1 = 48.81%; 2 = 51.19% |
— |
Stability of Income Sources |
Very Bad = 1; Bad = 2; Neutral = 3; Good = 4; Very Good = 5 |
Interval Variable |
3.18 |
0.745 |
3.2. Correlation Analysis
The study conducted correlation analysis among variables. As shown in Table 3, the correlation coefficients between each pair of variables passed the significance test, indicating significant correlations between the variables. Furthermore, the absolute values of the correlation coefficients for each variable range from 0.098 to 0.703, all of which are less than 0.8. Thus, there are no highly correlated variables, reducing the likelihood of severe multicollinearity in subsequent regression analysis.
Table 3. Correlation analysis.
Variable |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
1 Delayed Retirement Intention |
1 |
|
|
|
|
2 Household Registration in Beijing |
0.099* |
1 |
|
|
|
3 Health Condition |
0.201** |
0.098* |
1 |
|
|
4 Spouse’s Employment Status |
0.402** |
0.203** |
0.190* |
1 |
|
5 Stability of Income Sources |
0.703** |
0.543** |
0.301** |
0.201** |
1 |
Note: *indicates p < 0.1, **indicates p < 0.01, ***indicates p < 0.001.
3.3. Regression Analysis
This section utilizes SPSS 27.0 to include the aforementioned explanatory variables and the dependent variable into a logistic regression model. The results are presented in Table 4.
Table 4. Regression results.
|
β |
Std. |
Sig. |
OR |
Delayed Retirement Intention |
0.521 |
0.253 |
0.002 |
1.684 |
Household Registration in Beijing |
0.699 |
0.239 |
0.003 |
2.012 |
Health Condition |
−0.701 |
0.302 |
0.006 |
0.496 |
Spouse’s Employment Status |
−1.103 |
0.310 |
0.000 |
0.332 |
Con |
27.64 |
40193.92 |
0.99 |
1.015E+11 |
From the above logistic regression results, it is evident that factors such as Beijing household registration, health status, spouse’s employment status, and income stability significantly influence women’s willingness to delay retirement. Specifically, female employees with Beijing household registration show a stronger willingness to delay retirement (β = 0.521; p = 0.002), with their likelihood of supporting delayed retirement being 68.4% higher compared to female employees without Beijing household registration. Furthermore, better health status correlates with a stronger intention to delay retirement among female employees (β = 0.699; p = 0.003), with each unit increase in health status making the likelihood of supporting delayed retirement 2.012 times higher. On the other hand, female employees with employed spouses are less willing to delay retirement (β = −0.701; p = 0.006), with their likelihood of supporting delayed retirement being 49.6% that of those whose spouses are not employed. Additionally, the more stable the income source, the less willing female employees are to delay retirement (β = −1.103; p = 0.000), with each unit increase in income stability reducing the likelihood of supporting delayed retirement to 33.2% of the original.
3.4. Discussion
Among individual characteristics, on one hand, the health status of women has a significant impact on their willingness to delay retirement. The better the health status, the stronger the willingness of female employees to delay retirement. Good health is an important driving factor for female employees to consider delaying retirement. Healthier female employees are more likely to choose to continue working. This finding is consistent with the perspective in health economics that health is a critical determinant of work ability. Kong et al. also found that good health significantly increases employees’ willingness to work, which aligns with the results of this study (Kong, Ren, Li, & Feng, 2022).
On the other hand, whether a woman holds a Beijing household registration significantly influences her willingness to delay retirement. Specifically, female employees with a Beijing household registration have a higher willingness to delay retirement. The significant impact of Beijing household registration on the willingness to delay retirement reflects regional differences in social security and welfare systems. Female employees with a Beijing household registration are more inclined to delay retirement, possibly due to the more comprehensive social security and medical benefits in the Beijing. Armour et al. also pointed out that the household registration system plays an important role in retirement decisions, especially in the distribution of welfare resources (Armour, Carman, & Dube, 2022).
In terms of family situation, female employees with employed spouses have a lower willingness to delay retirement. This phenomenon may be due to the additional economic support provided by the employed spouse, which gives female employees greater confidence in their financial situation post-retirement, thereby reducing the necessity to delay retirement. Hu also found that family economic support has a significant impact on women’s retirement decisions (Hu, 2018).
Regarding work situation, the stability of income sources has the most significant impact on the willingness to delay retirement. The more stable the income source, the lower the willingness of female employees to delay retirement. This may be because a stable income source provides sufficient financial security, making it unnecessary for female employees to rely on delayed retirement to maintain their standard of living. This finding is consistent with Hu’s research (Hu, 2018).
4. Conclusion and Prospects
This study investigates the key factors influencing the willingness of female employees in Beijing to delay retirement, revealing the significant impacts of health status, household registration, spouse’s employment status, and income stability on the decision to delay retirement. Through logistic regression analysis, we find that these factors affect the retirement decisions of female employees to varying degrees.
Firstly, the importance of health status on the willingness to delay retirement cannot be overlooked. Better health status leads to a higher propensity for female employees to delay retirement. This finding underscores the central role of health in retirement decisions, suggesting that the government should focus on improving the overall health level of female employees to encourage delayed retirement.
Secondly, female employees with Beijing household registration are more inclined to delay retirement, reflecting regional differences in social security and welfare systems. The advantages of social security and medical benefits associated with Beijing household registration significantly influence the retirement decisions of female employees. Therefore, relevant departments in other regions should consider improving their social security and welfare systems to mitigate the impact of regional disparities on retirement decisions.
In terms of family circumstances, female employees with employed spouses show a lower willingness to delay retirement, indicating that family economic support plays a crucial role in retirement decisions. To better understand and support the retirement decisions of female employees, further research is needed to examine the specific impacts of family economic support.
Regarding work conditions, the stability of income sources has a particularly significant negative impact on the willingness to delay retirement. Stable income sources reduce the necessity for female employees to delay retirement. This finding provides important insights for enterprises, suggesting that in designing employee benefits and retirement policies, long-term economic security should be considered to balance employees’ work and retirement needs.
In conclusion, this study not only reveals multiple factors influencing women’s willingness to delay retirement but also offers important practical references for policymakers and enterprises. However, the study has certain limitations, such as the sample being restricted to the Beijing. Future research could extend to other regions to verify the findings of this study. Additionally, further exploration of other potential factors, such as cultural background and job types, is needed to understand their impact on women’s willingness to delay retirement.