Lacking Support for Poor Elderly: Explaining the High Elderly Work Rates in South Korea

Despite having a relatively small elderly population, South Korea's elderly poverty rate outranks that of all other countries with 43.8 percent of all elderly people living in poverty. Moreover, the Korean elderly are poorer than all other age groups. To make up for this inequality, one third of the elderly population stays active on the labour market. This study examines how changes in family dynamics, current social welfare programmes and pension policies explain this high elderly workforce participation rate. To do so, it uses secondary literature, analyses government reports and laws in addition to statistics published by databanks of the OECD and Statistics Korea, among others. In order to understand the importance of this analysis, the Korean case is brought into world context by comparing it with Japan and the Netherlands. This study found that Korea's current elderly support system is unbalanced and has not yet reached its full potential: the combination of shifting...Show moreDespite having a relatively small elderly population, South Korea's elderly poverty rate outranks that of all other countries with 43.8 percent of all elderly people living in poverty. Moreover, the Korean elderly are poorer than all other age groups. To make up for this inequality, one third of the elderly population stays active on the labour market. This study examines how changes in family dynamics, current social welfare programmes and pension policies explain this high elderly workforce participation rate. To do so, it uses secondary literature, analyses government reports and laws in addition to statistics published by databanks of the OECD and Statistics Korea, among others. In order to understand the importance of this analysis, the Korean case is brought into world context by comparing it with Japan and the Netherlands. This study found that Korea's current elderly support system is unbalanced and has not yet reached its full potential: the combination of shifting household structures and the immature pension system leaves the elderly with a weak safety net that fails to keep them from living below the poverty line.Show less

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Lacking Support for Poor Elderly: Explaining the High Elderly Work Rates in South Korea