Fei Yuan

FEI YUAN, then a graduate student at University of California, Irvine, California, was awarded funding in October 2022 to aid research on “Plan for Our Own Late-life Care: An Ethnographic Study of Retirees’ Financial and Estate-planning in Beijing, China,” supervised by Dr. Mei Zhan. As China’s population ages and family structure shifts, elders must navigate complex decisions about late-life care, inheritance, and financial security. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic research in Beijing including participant observation at notary offices, legal consultancy firms, and hospice care centers, as well as interviews with elderly individuals, legal professionals, and financial advisors, this study examines how elders engage with legal and financial institutions to plan for the uncertainties of old age. Elders’ interactions with legal and financial tools are shaped by life experiences. While some place trust in public institutions, others turn to private legal consultancies and financial advisors to secure their assets. The research traces how wills, trusts, and insurance are mobilized as strategies for navigating intergenerational obligations, ensuring dignity in old age, and financing medical and hospice care. Furthermore, the study addresses the increased anxiety concerning unpredictable risks in later life, intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in greater engagement of the elderly in legal and financial planning. By examining how law, finance, and eldercare markets intersect in late-life decision-making, this study highlights the ways older adults in urban China navigate aging with dignity and familial responsibility amidst social and economic changes in the post-pandemic era.