In the context of population ageing and economic transformation, it is important to have a better understanding of the retirement process of urban workers to improve employment and retirement policies for the elderly. The present study proposes that the process of retirement should be seen as a continuous trajectory, and population heterogeneity and macro-socioeconomic background should be fully considered. Drawing data from the Life History Survey Questionnaire of 2014 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we apply sequence analysis and identify 5 typical retirement trajectories of male elderly (retiring at age 60, retiring at age 55, early retirement, informal employment and long-time unemployment) and 4 typical retirement trajectories of female elderly (retiring before age 50, retiring at age 55, long-time unemployment and informal employment). By comparing the differences in the discrepancy of the retirement trajectories between generations, we find that the labour exit trajectories of older people show a significant trend of de-standardisation during the economic transition period of China. Notably, the pattern of de-standardisation differs between genders, with women showing a higher degree of de-standardisation, while men showing more rapidly increases of de-standardisation over generations.

Using fertility data from national authorities and national censuses of China，Japan，and South Korea，this study analyzes the levels and trends of mean age at childbearing ( MAC) of the three countries from 1990 to 2015. After isolating the effects of parity composition and childbearing schedule respectively by decomposition technique，the article examines quantitatively the mechanism that underlies dynamic changes and cross-national differences of MACs. Results indicate that the MAC of China experienced a decrease between 1990 and 1995，followed by a sustaining growth afterwards. The increase of MAC in China is driven by the postponement of childbearing and the changes of parity composition， with the former playing a larger role. The inherent mechanism since 2010 deserves special attention. Compared with Japan and Korea，China still has relatively lower overall and parity-specific MACs. Although all of the three countries have witnessed an increase of MAC during the past 25 years， they demonstrate different patterns in terms of the roles of parity composition and birth timing. The accuracy of MAC in identifying the timing of period fertility and the policy implications of timing on upturning fertility level are discussed.