In order to study the reasonable parameter of the elastic-plastic retainer considering the damage of the pier column, a three-span simply supported girder bridge model was established using the finite element software of OpenSees. The yield strength of retainer was dynamically adjusted through nonlinear time history analysis. An intuitive connection was established between the yield strength of the retainer and the damage state of the pier column. The initial stiffness of the elastoplastic retainer and the stiffness ratio after yielding were analyzed. The results show that, the action of retainer can be improved by increasing the strength. When the strength of the retainer is set to achieve the moderate damage stress of the pier, it is conducive to reasonably distribute the seismic inertial force. The displacement response of main beam can be reduced effectively by increasing the initial stiffness of the retainer. The influence of initial stiffness on the seismic response of the pier is smaller than that of the strength. When the yield of retainer is induced by the strong earthquake, the seismic response of the bridge is very sensitive to the change of the stiffness. A small post-buckling stiffness ratio is beneficial to the seismic resistance of the substructure, and the sharp increase displacement demand of the upper structure can be limited.