China’s Elderly Urban Migrant Workers: A Ticking Time Bomb

China’s Elderly Urban Migrant Workers: A Ticking Time Bomb

Time is running out for one critical segment of the backbone of China’s urban development. More and more migrant workers are approaching or past the legal retirement age, yet forced to spend their twilight years in back-breaking and prohibitively low-paying blue-collar jobs.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics defines domestic migrant workers as individuals with rural household registration (‘hukou’) working in cities for more than 6 months. Even beyond the legal retirement age of 63, urban migrant workers in China had no choice but to continue being occupied in labor-intensive work with “long working hours, poor working environment, and low payment.” Their social security payments average between 100 and 200 yuan (about $14-$28) per month compared to a minimum of 1,490 yuan for residents with hukou in a major city like Shanghai—urban migrants call their medical insurance cards “salt-buying sheets” because their monthly pension can barely afford 10 bags of salt.

As of 2024, 18.5 million migrant workers are over the age of 60. These migrant workers make up over 20% of the construction workforce in China. Underpaid elderly migrant workers became the band-aid to the acute labor shortages of not only the construction industry, but also many other blue-collar occupations such as goods transportation, sanitation, and manufacturing.

The achievements of China’s urbanization and modernization efforts are inseparable from the hard work of its vast migrant worker population. However, elderly migrant workers face systemic injustices that leave them vulnerable to poor health, exploitation, and social exclusion. Physically, elderly migrant workers often suffer from chronic conditions but are ignored by health services and are unable to independently afford medication. Economically, they had to work low-paying jobs past retirement age because their pension cannot sustain themselves and their families; they are also far more likely to face age discrimination in employment.

Despite being increasingly frail, aging, and under-supported, this workforce in urban development is a unique and significant contributor to the long-term stability of Chinese cities and the nation as a whole. When elderly migrant workers eventually retire, their future generations are unlikely to willingly accept the poor labor conditions they had endured and make up for the largening labor shortage, thereby further stalling China’s industrialization and economic growth. This essay argues that the systemic exploitation and inadequate support of elderly urban migrant workers in China pose a significant threat to the nation’s long-term economic stability and urban resilience.

The Faulty Policy

The root causes of the plight of elderly migrant workers lie in the deep systemic barriers. Firstly, the household registration system “hukou” excludes migrant workers from urban public service systems. Each citizen was classified as an agricultural or non-agricultural hukou based on the location of origin. Residents who held agricultural hukou are not eligible to receive the more luxurious benefits available to their non-agricultural (or urban) counterparts. While recent reforms in cities like Shanghai and Chongqing have relaxed hukou restrictions, these changes primarily benefit high-income, highly educated migrants with urban housing ownership. Compared to local household residents, rural migrants face persistent wage gaps and lack access to crucial social security programs such as pensions, unemployment benefits, and medical insurance. Furthermore, social insurance offers little practical benefit for elderly migrants because the instability of their jobs in the city makes it difficult for most to accumulate the 15 years of contributions needed to qualify for a basic pension.

Though the inadequacy of the social security system leaves elderly migrants vulnerable, two signidicant reasons compel them to stay in the city and earn significantly more than their pensions.

To begin with, elderly migrants often move to cities and work to improve the lives of their children and relatives by helping them pay housing loans and child-rearing fees. In fact, as of 2015, more than 40% of all elderly migrants moved to urban areas to care for their grandchildren.

Moreover, elderly migrant workers are prone to chronic health conditions like cancer, fractures, hypertension and diabetes due to the deterioration of their physiological functions, yet more than 54% of them opt for painkillers or neglect treatment because many elderly migrant workers are saving for long-term medical care.

Age Discrimination

52-year-old Mr. Zhang obtained six vocational skill certificates—from electrician to forklift driver—but was rejected by every company due to being “overage”; 48-year-old Ms. Wang obtained a “nursery training” certificate, only to be told that her clients "don't want anyone over 45.”

Despite migrant workers facing more barriers in job application than locals due to language, adaptation, and interpersonal communication difficulties, systemic age bias further prevents many capable migrant workers from finding suitable employment even when they possess the necessary skills or are willing to accept lower wages.

Labor-intensive industries such as the manufacturing sector often demand a younger, more productive workforce that encounters fewer accidents. Thus, these industries tend to set their worker age restrictions to under 60 or even 50, which bars older migrant workers from finding employment. Though emergent urban industries such as food delivery, express delivery, and ride-hailing services can also provide a large number of job opportunities for migrant workers, elderly migrant workers with limited education levels and digital literacy find integrating into these industries difficult.

When employed individuals reach the legal retirement age, they no longer fall under the category of "workers" as defined by labor laws, hence unable to seek legal protection through labor inspection or arbitration procedures. Labor market data shows that the unit price for workers over 60 is lower than for younger workers, and elderly workers are more likely to encounter unfair, arbitrary employment practices such as “oral agreements” and “temporary dismissals” instead of signing fair contracts.

Possible Solutions

Experts have been calling for comprehensive policy reforms and societal support to address the plight of Chinese elderly migrant workers. Firstly, anti-age discrimination should be enshrined in law. A reference could be made from the experience of Japan’s Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons, which mandates enterprises to secure employment opportunities for workers up to 65 years old to provide more job opportunities for elder migrant workers with the ability and intention to engage in labor. Secondly, social security system reforms are crucial. China’s social safety net should be further expanded to fully integrate migrant workers into urban pension, medical, and work injury systems to reduce their vulnerability. Most essentially, the hukou system must be effectively reformed by gradually relaxing settlement restrictions in small and medium-sized cities and allowing migrant workers to truly become “citizens” rather than guest workers. Improving the welfare of migrant workers is a cost-effective way to stimulate consumption and bolster economic growth in China.

Furthermore, industrial restructuring is also vital. Developing industries suitable for old-age labor, such as community services and county-level industries—often referred to as the “silver economy”—could create more low-intensity, flexible employment opportunities. Through these comprehensive measures, a more equitable and secure system can be built for elderly migrant workers to ensure they receive the support and dignity they deserve in their later years and strengthen China’s future development and urban resilience.