TITLE:
Implementation Research on the Gradual Delay of the Statutory Retirement Age Policy
AUTHORS:
Chen Wang
KEYWORDS:
Gradual Delay of Retirement, Three-Dimensional Contradiction, Intergenerational Employment, Family Care, Three Pillar Pension, Systematic Synergy
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.10,
October
29,
2026
ABSTRACT: China has officially entered a moderately aging society. The structural contradiction between the current retirement age and rising life expectancy is becoming increasingly prominent. Implementing a gradual delay of the statutory retirement age is an inevitable choice to ease pressure on pension funds and optimize human resource allocation. However, policy implementation is not a simple age adjustment but a systemic restructuring that may trigger multidimensional social risks. This paper constructs a three-dimensional analytical framework covering institutional design, social operation, and institutional synergy contradictions. Based on this framework, it analyzes three major systemic risks that may arise during policy implementation: intergenerational employment squeeze, family caregiving dilemmas, and lack of synergy in the three-pillar pension system. Using policy text analysis and theoretical deduction, the study argues that policy optimization must shift from one-way adjustment to systematic synergy. This can be achieved by clarifying flexibility boundaries, building a dual-track support system for silver employment and youth development, deepening three-pillar pension reform, and linking it with family support policies. Only then can a trinity support system integrating employment, pension, and care be built, effectively managing policy risks and promoting the sustainable development of healthy aging and the old-age security system.