South Korea's relative poverty rate among seniors tops OECD nations
The relative poverty rate among South Korea's retired population reached the highest level among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), data showed Monday, Yonhap reports.
For those aged 65 and older, the relative poverty rate stood at 39.8 percent in 2023, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea.
Based on 2022 figures, it marked the highest level among the 33 OECD member countries.
The rate measures the share of people living on less than half of the country's median income.
The country's senior population reached 10.51 million this year, accounting for 20.3 percent of the total population.
The proportion is projected to rise to 30 percent by 2036 and exceed 40 percent by 2050.
Households headed by those aged 65 and above took up 27.6 percent of total households, and the figure is expected to rise to 50.6 percent by 2052.
The average net assets of senior households in 2024 stood at 465.94 million won (US$332,695), up 10.54 million won from the previous year.
Among those aged 65-79, 57.6 percent expressed a desire to continue working. Of those, 51.3 percent cited the need to cover living expenses, followed by personal satisfaction and enjoyment of work at 38.1 percent, the data showed.
As reported previously, the OECD leading index for South Korea rose for the seventh month in June.
