Caught in the Cultural Dilemma—Cohort Differences in Behavioral Reconciliation of Filial Piety

This research employs mixed methodologies to elucidate the impact of cultural lag between generations on the retirement saving behaviors of older migrant workers. Utilizing surveys of 699 participants and 30 in-depth interviews with elderly migrant workers, this study examines the connection between cultural and social factors and retirement saving behaviors. The results uncover variations in retirement saving behaviors among different cohorts of migrant workers. The first cohorts of migrant workers find themselves caught between the dilemma of cultural expectations of filial piety and actual cultural lag of intergenerational cultural transmission. The retirement saving behaviors of migrant workers demonstrate a positive correlation between factors such as social support, peer influence, and optimism regarding retirement. The authors posit that the implementation of social policies is imperative to foster awareness and encourage retirement-related behaviors among rural migrant workers in the social context of shrinking family size in China. Crafting social policies aimed at incentivizing retirement savings among migrant workers should be the strategic approach to mitigate the cultural and structural lags experienced by elderly migrant workers.