"I retired from my main job at 53 and receive a pension, but it falls far short of covering living expenses, so I want to work until I'm 73." This is the average situation for older adults aged 55 to 79 as of May of this year.

According to the additional survey on older adults within the Economically Active Population Survey for May released by the Korea National Statistical Office, the population aged 55 to 79—the legal standard for older workers under the current Aged Employment Promotion Act—stood at 17,017,000, an increase of 570,000 from a year earlier.

Among them, the number of employed older adults reached 10,125,000, surpassing 10 million for the first time since relevant statistics began in 2005. This is an increase of 345,000 from a year ago and 1.5 times more than 10 years ago.

The labor force participation rate for older adults stood at 60.9%, and the employment rate at 59.5%, maintaining the same record-high levels set last year.

Meanwhile, 52.7% of older adults were receiving a pension.

While the proportion of pension recipients increased compared to last year, the average monthly payout remained at 880,000 won, falling well short of the 1,540,000 won required as the minimum living cost for a single-person household.

By gender, men received an average monthly pension of about 1.13 million won, while women received about 610,000 won. The largest share of recipients, at 41%, received less than 500,000 won, while only 16% received 1.5 million won or more.

Because pensions are insufficient to cover living expenses, a significant portion of older adults are heading back to the labor market.

Nearly 70% of older adults expressed a desire to work. Among them, 53.4%—more than half—cited supplementing living expenses as the reason, while only 36.7% said they wanted to work for the enjoyment of it.

The desired retirement age for older adults averaged 73.6 years, up 0.2 years from a year ago.

On the other hand, people still step away from their primary lifetime jobs at an early age.

The average age at which older adults left their longest-held jobs was 53, creating an income gap of more than 20 years before reaching their desired retirement age.

The most common reasons for leaving their jobs were "business sluggishness, suspension of operations, or closure," followed by "poor health" and "family care."

"Pensions Fall Far Short of Living Expenses"… Older Employed Workers Surpass 10 Million for the First Time (D Report, August 5, 2026)

Reported by Kim Hye-min | Written by Bae Jun-hwi | Video Editing by Lee So-young | Produced by SBS Digital News