Is the traditional concept of "raising children for old age" outdated?

The decline in young people's pension expectations. Receiving a full pension is the basis for guaranteeing the lives of the elderly, but as China's population ages, the pressure on the pension fund's income and expenditure continues to grow. According to official data, in 2019, China will still be able to achieve a ratio of 3.5 working-age people to 1 elderly person, a ratio that will drop to 1.4:1 by 2050.In addition, there are three pillars of the pension system: basic pension insurance mandated by the state, supplemental pension insurance based on enterprise or occupational pensions, and individual savings pension insurance. personal savings pension insurance. The latter two are lagging behind in development due to their late start, and the degree of protection and coverage are insufficient. The imbalance in the development of the "multi-level" system of old-age security makes the enterprise workers face the risk of a decline in the replacement rate of old-age pensions.

Secondly, changes in family structure have led to a weakening of the family's pension function and a significant change in young people's concept of old age. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that China's families are showing a trend of miniaturization, with the number of members decreasing, and the average size of a family household in 2019 was only 2.92 people, while the indicator was 4.41 people in 1982. The traditional multi-generational composite extended family is gradually disappearing, with the nuclear family form accounting for about 60% of all families, and the proportion of single-person and empty-nest families rising. Data from a number of surveys also show that the proportion of adult children living with their parents is declining, and that children are living farther away from their parents, and that this phenomenon is being transmitted from urban to rural areas, and from more educated groups to less educated groups.

Changes in family structure will weaken the function of family pension and cause changes in the concept of pension. Contemporary young people are more in pursuit of a free, equal and independent lifestyle, the traditional family concept has been gradually marginalized, the center of gravity of intergenerational relations has been shifted downward, the concept of old age is more diversified, and the demand for responsibility for old age, old age needs and old age is more tolerant, and the socialization of old age is being accepted and respected.

In addition, the intensity of competition in the labor market continues to increase, and the "mid-life workplace crisis" of "either excel or go out" continues to whip young people, lowering people's expectations for career stability and income stability. Some surveys show that the pension expectations have affected young people's career choices, the traditional meaning of the "iron rice bowl" by college graduates, deviating from the rational career planning based on professional preferences and skills, and ultimately will affect the overall optimization of the allocation of labor market resources.

China is about to enter a "moderately aging" society, where young people are subject to the pressure of their parents' retirement, and are also facing anxiety about their own retirement prospects; not only do they have to take up the family responsibility of supporting and honoring their elders, they also have to do a good job of stockpiling and planning for their own retirement in advance. How do young people cope with "old age anxiety"?

The most important prerequisite for coping with "old age anxiety" is to do a good job of long-term life planning and actively invest in personal human capital to enhance their competitiveness in the workplace. The investment in human capital should not be limited to obtaining a diploma through schooling, but should also include investment in one's health, skills, experience or other spiritual dimensions. In an era of accelerated development, the only effective way to gain a sense of job security and a stable source of income is to keep your knowledge up-to-date and constantly improve your professionalism.

Young people need to plan for their retirement in the long run and develop healthy spending and saving habits. The "third pillar" of retirement protection usually refers to personal savings pension insurance and commercial pension insurance, which account for more than one-third of an elderly person's income in some developed countries. The development of China's pension financial products is relatively slow, and there are problems such as insufficient quality products, narrow coverage and people's lack of awareness of pension savings, which has resulted in China's pension security relying heavily on public ****basic pension insurance. In recent years, governments at all levels have been increasing policy support for the construction of the pension financial system and pension insurance, in order to accelerate the construction of the "multi-level pension insurance" system. Young people should plan their retirement funds in advance and balance the relationship between income, consumption and savings from the perspective of the whole life cycle to ensure that they can still maintain a certain standard of living in old age.

In addition to adequate material preparation, the psychological and emotional reserves in retirement planning are not just empty words. Some studies have shown that emotional support from loved ones and children, as well as caring for grandchildren and participating in social activities, can significantly improve the tendency to depression in the elderly. Family and kinship are the emotional anchors for the elderly.