SEOUL, KOREA - As many as 1.8 million elder households, 71 percent of the total, are unable to meet the minimum living expense requirement with assets and public pensions alone until their death. According to a research report "Hard Living after Retirement" published by LG Economic Research Institute on May 12 based on statistical data "2012 Household Financial Welfare Survey" of the Korea Statistical Office, the minimal amount needed to live a comfortable life after retirement is 250 million won.

 

The elders who have assets and incomes below that level must find a job or ask for a handout to their children. But this is easier said than done. For example, a 2012 survey by the Korea Statistical Office said the percentage of those young people who believe that they should be responsible for their parents' welfare after retirement was 33.2 percent, a far cry from 70.7 percent in 2002. In addition, most senior citizens have difficulty finding jobs or land low-paying manual jobs.

 

As many as 1.51 senior citizen-headed households, or 59 percent of the total, are unable to meet the monthly minimum living expense of 680,000 won to 1,570,000 won even after they sell all their possessions.