Whom do they rely on when getting old? Old-age expectations of forced bachelors in contemporary rural China

Using data from a survey of four towns in Yi County of Anhui Province conducted in 2008, the paper analyzes older unmarried men’s expectations for their old age in rural China. It shows that marriage status is a significant determinant affecting expectations of support in old-age of rural men from perspectives of both birth cohort and migration experiences. Compared with married men, the older or never-migrated unmarried men are more likely to expect receiving the government aid and living in geracomium for old age, which is consistent with the hierarchical compensatory model that formal help becomes the last resort when the familial and non-familial sources of support are not available. Neither older unmarried men nor married men would see their siblings as their old-age supporters, and self-support by saving money or living alone become the important means in old-age expectations of the older unmarried men, especially for those who are relatively younger and ever-migrated.