▲ An elderly person receiving counseling for the basic pension
It has been found that the actual income of elderly women aged 66 and older in South Korea remains far from sufficient to sustain their livelihoods in retirement.
In particular, experts point out that the basic pension, upon which many elderly women rely, has a minimal effect on increasing actual consumption, necessitating urgent institutional improvements.
According to a report titled "Analysis of Changes in Income Composition and Consumption Levels of Elderly Women Following Public Pension Receipt," published today (July 11) by researchers Kim Man-soo, Ahn Jun-hong, and Lee Ye-in at the National Pension Research Institute, the total income of women aged 66 and older increased by 94.9% over the 10 years from 2013 to 2023, surpassing the growth rate for elderly men (72.2%).
However, despite the high growth rate, the actual pension receipt and total income scale for elderly women remain at an extremely low level.
As of 2023, the average monthly national pension receipt for elderly women was only 243,000 won, which is one-sixth of the 1.545 million won average for elderly men.
This highlights the absolute income gap between genders and the reality of poverty among elderly women, once the optical illusion created by growth rate figures is stripped away.
In fact, despite the maturation of the public pension system, the gender gap in the national pension, a core pillar of retirement income security, remains severe.
As of December 2024, there were 976,000 men receiving the full old-age pension with a contribution period of 20 years or more, while only 185,000 women were receiving it, meaning there were about five times more men than women.
Furthermore, as of 2024, the overall average monthly payment for the national old-age pension is around 657,000 won, which is less than half of the median income for a single-person household, making it difficult to maintain a stable retirement life on pension benefits alone.
The vulnerable economic structure of elderly women is also confirmed in terms of income composition.
As of 2023, the basic pension accounted for the highest share of total income for elderly women at 22.2%, an increase of about 7 percentage points (p) compared to 10 years ago, surpassing earned income, business income, and private transfer income to emerge as the most important source of income.
In contrast, the share of the basic pension in the income of elderly men was only 3.6%.
Although the reliance on the basic pension is overwhelmingly higher for elderly women than for men, the average annual total income of the group receiving only this basic pension was less than 9 million won, the lowest among all groups.
Based on these findings, the research team proposed multifaceted policies to strengthen retirement income security for vulnerable elderly women.
As a long-term alternative, they suggested providing an additional basic pension to the most vulnerable elderly, specifically the bottom 25% with the lowest income.
They also emphasized that when selecting recipients for the National Basic Living Security system, the amount of basic pension received should be excluded from the calculation of recognized income so that low-income elderly can fully enjoy actual welfare benefits.
Considering the longer life expectancy of elderly women and the risk of being left alone, they proposed establishing a new system to provide a lump-sum funeral grant of approximately 800,000 to 1 million won to bereaved families when a basic pension recipient passes away.
In the short term, they suggested that the current spousal reduction system, which reduces the basic pension by 20% each when a couple receives it simultaneously, should be exempted for the vulnerable, allowing them to receive the full amount without reductions.
However, the researchers emphasized that before implementing these policies, the macroeconomic role and goals of the basic pension must be established, and financial sustainability must be reviewed, considering the massive fiscal requirements.
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