The Hidden Crisis: Senior Poverty Rates in South Korea Shockingly High

While South Korea has expanded its public pension system, many older women and those over 75 still fall through the cracks, either because they didn’t qualify or contributed too little

South Korea has made significant strides in expanding its public pension coverage in recent years, helping to reduce elderly poverty. However, despite this progress, the country’s senior poverty rate remains the highest among OECD nations.

A recent report from the National Pension Research Institute revealed a dramatic shift: between 2006 and 2022, the percentage of older adults without pension income plummeted from nearly 69 percent to just 8.7 percent. This change marks a clear transition from family-based support to state-funded income for the elderly.

Public pensions have become a cornerstone of South Korea’s social safety net. In 2022, they contributed to lowering the senior poverty rate by 14.9 percentage points, a substantial increase from just 2.4 percentage points in 2006. Yet, the need for further improvement remains urgent. According to 2023 OECD data, South Korea’s senior poverty rate stands at 40.4 percent, almost triple the OECD average of 14.2 percent.

South Korea’s pension system is built on two pillars: the National Pension Scheme, which is tied to employment and contributions, and the Basic Pension, a cash benefit for low-income seniors. In 2022, the Basic Pension had a more significant impact on poverty reduction, accounting for an 8.3 percentage point drop, compared to 7 percentage points from the National Pension. However, the National Pension played a larger role in narrowing overall income disparities.

Despite these improvements, significant gaps persist for certain groups. In 2022, only 32.4 percent of senior women received National Pension benefits, compared to 56.9 percent of men. This disparity reflects decades of unequal access to formal employment. Consequently, poverty among senior women reached 48.7 percent, substantially higher than the 35.9 percent among men.

Seniors aged 75 and older face the most severe challenges. Many were too old to fully benefit from the pension system when it was introduced in 1988. Their poverty rate hit a staggering 61.3 percent in 2022, nearly double that of seniors aged 65 to 74.

Researchers are calling for stronger protections for these vulnerable groups. They recommend expanding pension credits for women with caregiving gaps and implementing targeted increases in Basic Pension payments for those over 75.