While the world is more mobile yet older than ever before, the long-term impacts of migration on retirement remain uncertain. This research proposes a conceptual framework that links internal migration history and employment after pension age by pinpointing economic and welfare mechanisms. Analyses of retrospective and prospective survey data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011—2020) showed that lifetime migrants had lower odds of employment after pension age than non-migrants from same origins, but rural-origin migrants were more likely than urban-origin migrants to work longer. Migrants who moved in the post-reform era, crossed provincial borders, and stayed in urban destinations for longer periods might have better economic preparation for retirement and thus were less likely to work after pension age. Because of welfare exclusion, migrants who returned to their originating places or did not obtain an urban citizenship status had higher odds of extended working life.
Read the supplementary material here.