South Korea's Elderly Poverty Rate Falls Below 40% for First Time in OECD Study

The financial situation of elderly people in South Korea, which has entered a super-aged society, is showing signs of improvement compared to the past.

Both international comparative data and the latest domestic government statistics indicate that the elderly poverty rate has declined, falling into the 30% range for the first time.

According to an analysis by the National Pension Research Institute of the Pensions at a Glance 2025 report, published biennially by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), South Korea's elderly income poverty rate stood at 39.7%.

This marks the first time South Korea's elderly poverty rate has entered the 30% range in an OECD study.

The poverty rate, which was 49.6% in 2015, has gradually declined to 45.7% in 2017, 43.8% in 2019, 43.4% in 2021, and 40.4% in 2023.

This trend is also reflected in the latest domestic statistical indicators.

According to the results of the Household Finance and Welfare Survey by the National Statistical Office, the relative poverty rate for the population aged 65 and older was 35.9% in 2024, based on disposable income.

After rising for two consecutive years—from 37.6% in 2021 to 38.1% in 2022 and 38.2% in 2023—the domestic poverty indicator has turned downward for the first time in three years, reaching its lowest level since the statistics were first compiled.

As a result, the proportion of the elderly population living in poverty has decreased from approximately 4 out of 10 people to 3.5 out of 10.

The income poverty rate refers to the proportion of people living on less than half of the median income when all households in society are ranked by income.

Some analysts suggest that the recent decline in the elderly poverty rate in domestic statistics reflects the effectiveness of government welfare policies.

In 2024, the elderly poverty rate based on market income was 54.9%.

Market income refers to earnings such as wages or business income that elderly individuals generate themselves without state assistance.

While this figure suggests that more than 1 in 2 elderly people are in poverty, the poverty rate based on disposable income, which accounts for public pensions and other transfers, was 35.9%.

The impact of these policies becomes clearer when compared to 2023; the gap between the market income poverty rate (55.5%) and the disposable income poverty rate (38.2%) was 17.3 percentage points in 2023, but it widened to 19 percentage points in 2024.

This demonstrates that state-provided income support has played a greater role in helping the elderly escape poverty than changes in their own earned income.

However, the economic difficulties faced by South Korean seniors remain significant when compared to other developed nations.

The average elderly income poverty rate among OECD member countries is 14.8%, meaning South Korea's rate (39.7%) is 2.7 times higher.

Structural issues also remain, particularly the fact that the elderly are more economically vulnerable as they age, and female seniors are more vulnerable than their male counterparts.

In the OECD study, the poverty rate for those aged 66 to 75 was 29.8%, while the rate for the super-aged population over 75 was 54.0%.

The poverty rate for male seniors was 32.6%, while it was 45.0% for female seniors, showing a significant gap.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.