Abstract
To date, there have been many studies about “Sub-nationalization of Social Protection”, fragmented social security, and the mechanism of the above, but little empirical research has been undertaken into the stratification of retirees in China. This study attempts to answer how the different classes of retirees have been affected by the trajectory of the institutions. By revisiting the discussions of social stratification and social mobility, the impacts of political capital and the class on retirees are examined. Based on the fieldwork, four hypotheses are built. And statistical results show that danwei and party membership bring the retirees better incomes; besides, the opposite income distribution between the market producers and the retirees implies that the social security reform from the 1990s has been neither upholding the principal of social equality, nor benefiting the direct market producers. Instead, it is the stakeholders of the institutions that retain their advantages.