Delayed Retirement Preferences: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment in China

Last registered on April 06, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Delayed Retirement Preferences: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment in China
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018259
Initial registration date
March 31, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
April 06, 2026, 7:52 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Yijie Wang
Affiliation
Shenzhen University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Ping Zhang
PI Affiliation
Shenzhen University
PI Name
Mengjuan Tu
PI Affiliation
Shenzhen University

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2026-03-23
End date
2026-05-10
Keywords
Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines individuals’ preferences over delayed retirement policies in China using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). A total of 1,200 participants aged 45–59 will be recruited through an online platform between March 23, 2026 and May 10, 2026. Participants will first read an informational description of the current delayed retirement policy reform in China. They will then complete a series of pairwise choices between hypothetical retirement schemes that vary along multiple policy dimensions, including wage level, retirement age, pension incentives, flexible work arrangements, and employment sector type. The study aims to identify the relative importance of these policy attributes and to evaluate how policy design can influence individuals’ willingness to delay retirement.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Tu, Mengjuan, Yijie Wang and Ping Zhang. 2026. "Delayed Retirement Preferences: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment in China." AEA RCT Registry. April 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18259-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants are presented with multiple pairs of hypothetical retirement scenarios and are asked to choose their preferred option in each pair.
Intervention Start Date
2026-03-23
Intervention End Date
2026-05-10

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The primary outcome is the participant’s choice in each discrete choice task, indicating the preferred retirement scheme between two alternatives. This binary choice outcome reflects individuals’ preferences over delayed retirement policies. Based on these choices, we will estimate the marginal utilities of key policy attributes, including retirement age, pension increment rules, availability of flexible work arrangements after age 60, employment sector (public vs. non-public sector).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study employs an online discrete choice experiment (DCE) to investigate individuals’ preferences over delayed retirement policy designs in China. Participants complete multiple pairwise choice tasks, in which they are asked to select their preferred option between two hypothetical retirement schemes. Each task includes two sets of scenarios that differ exogenously in wage levels. Within each set, the scenarios vary along several key dimensions, including retirement age, pension increment rules (e.g., percentage increase per additional working year), availability of flexible work arrangements after age 60, and employment sector (public vs. non-public sector). The attributes are systematically varied across tasks, and the order of presentation is randomized. By observing repeated choices, the design allows for the identification of preferences over policy attributes and trade-offs between them.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Attributes of retirement schemes are randomly generated across choice sets. The order of choice tasks is randomized across participants.
No clustering-based treatment assignment; randomization occurs at the individual level within the DCE design.
Randomization Unit
The unit of randomization is the individual participant. Within each participant, the attributes of the hypothetical retirement schemes are randomly varied across choice tasks. The order of the choice tasks is also randomized at the individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1,200 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,200 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Not applicable (no treatment arms; attributes are randomized within individuals in a discrete choice experiment).
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Medical Ethics Committee, School of Medicine, Shenzhen University
IRB Approval Date
2026-01-27
IRB Approval Number
PN-202600020
Analysis Plan