Among the 55-79-year-olds, less than half of them are receiving a pension. Even if they receive a pension, the average monthly receipt per person was only 690,000 won, barely exceeding the minimum cost of living (583,000 won). A survey found that 7 out of 10 seniors want to work as anxiety about their old-age income grows.
According to the ‘May 2022 Economically Active Population Survey (Additional Survey for the Elderly)’ announced by the National Statistical Office on the 26th, only 49.4% (7457,000) of the 15,098,000 people aged 55 to 79 were receiving pensions. Although it increased by 1.0 percentage point compared to the same month last year, more than half of the elderly are still in the pension blind spot. The National Statistical Office conducted a survey including the national pension and basic pension, as well as public and personal pensions such as private pensions, military pensions, and civil servant pensions.
Even when the survey criteria was narrowed down to the retirement age of 60 to 79, the retirement age for workers was only 66.1%. The proportion of pensioners in this age group increased by 1.2 percentage points compared to the same month last year. The average monthly pension receipt amounted to 690,000 won, up 50,000 won from the same month of the previous year. The proportion of recipients between 250,000 and 500,000 won was the highest at 44.4%, and those receiving more than 1.5 million won only accounted for 10.7%.
The number of employed by the elderly was 8,772,000, an increase of 496,000 from the same month of the previous year, the highest since 2005 when related statistics were compiled. The employment rate of the elderly also reached a record high of 58.1%. 38.0% of the elderly employed worked in the business, private, or public service industries. 17.1% of them were employed in the wholesale/retail/lodging/food industry, and 13.8% in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector.
The average age of the older population when they quit their longest-serving job was 49.3 years. Among them, 30.9% quit their jobs due to sluggish business, suspension of operations, suspension or closure, and 10.9% due to recommended resignation, honorary retirement, or layoffs. That means 4 out of 10 people left their main job regardless of their will.
Due to the anxiety of old age, 10,348,000 people, or 68.5% of the elderly population, expressed their desire to work in the future. The proportion of the elderly who wish to work has risen significantly from 59.2% in 2012, 10 years ago. Those who wanted to work to help with living expenses accounted for the most at 57.1%. The elderly population who wish to work in the future said they would like to work until the average age of 73. The most desired average monthly wage was between 1.5 and 2 million won (20.9%).
Reporter Hwang Jung-hwan jung@hankyung.com
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