South Korea's human rights commission has ruled that low-income older people should receive more pension benefits, as Korea's rate of elderly poverty is the world's worst.
In its official recommendation issued Friday to the health and labor ministers, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea stated there is an urgent need to protect the human rights of older people by launching immediate measures to reduce elderly poverty.
As of this year, older people in Korea in the bottom 70 percent of the income bracket are entitled to receive a basic pension of approximately 320,000 won ($240) a month, from the age of 65. However, the human rights watchdog ruled the amount far from sufficient, given the country’s high elderly poverty rate, not to mention the fact that many elderly take their own lives due to not being able to make a living.
“Many older Koreans continue to work following their official retirement to avoid poverty, but many find their incomes regardless insufficient. The poverty rate of senior citizens remains the highest in the world,” the NHRCK stressed.
According to recent data released by Statistics Korea, 36.2 percent of those aged 65 or older in 2022 said they are still working. While the official retirement age here is 60, the basic pension cannot be accessed until age 65. Korea's de facto retirement age is 72, the highest among the 36 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations. The percent of working elderly is more than double the OECD average of 15 percent and the highest in the OECD.
Most of Korea's older people still working after retirement are just trying to help cover their basic living expenses. Over half -- 54.6 percent -- of those working found their earnings do not cover their minimum expenses. Among those unemployed, nearly two-thirds -- 65 percent -- said they did not have enough income to cover their basic needs.
The elderly poverty rate remains the highest among the OECD member states, as seniors are often forced to take low-wage jobs after officially retiring. In 2020, the poverty rate among Korea's elderly stood at 40.4 percent, the most severe among all OECD member nations.
The relative poverty rate -- the percentage of people living on below half of the median income -- for seniors also came to 39.9 percent, according to the data. In 2020, the monthly median income of employees in Korea came to 2.42 million won.
Economic difficulties are the top reason Korea's older people kill themselves at 2.7 times more than the OECD average. According to a report called 2017 National Survey of Older Koreans, financial difficulties were the leading cause for seniors contemplating suicide at 27.7 percent, followed by health issues at 27.6 percent, conflicts with or alienation from others at 18.6 percent and loneliness at 12.4 percent.
“To solve these problems, more basic pension should be paid to the lower-income elderly,” the commission stated. "Through this recommendation, we hope the social safety net for poor seniors who find it difficult to find other solutions at the end of old age can be further guaranteed."
