The poverty rate among elderly Koreans has risen for two consecutive years, signaling a worsening trend rather than an improvement.
According to Statistics Korea on Monday, the relative poverty rate for individuals aged 65 and older reached 38.2% in 2023, a 0.1 percentage point increase from 38.1% the previous year.
The elderly poverty rate initially dropped to 38.9% in 2020, marking its first decline into the 30% range. It decreased to 37.6% in 2021 but rebounded to 38.1% in 2022, continuing an upward trend for the past two years.
Disposable income—the amount available for spending or saving—is calculated by subtracting taxes from personal income and adding public transfer payments such as Social Security benefits.
The relative poverty rate refers to the percentage of individuals whose income falls below 50% of the median income, also known as the relative poverty line.
South Korea’s elderly poverty rate remains significantly higher than both the overall relative poverty rate of 14.9% and the 9.8% poverty rate for the working-age population (ages 18–65).
Gender disparities are also evident, with women (43.2%) facing a higher poverty rate than men (31.8%).
International comparisons highlight the severity of elderly poverty in South Korea.
The OECD’s Pensions at a Glance 2023 report shows that the income poverty rate for Koreans aged 66 and older was 40.4% in 2020, nearly triple the OECD average of 14.2%. South Korea is the only OECD country where the elderly poverty rate exceeds 40%.
The situation worsens with age. While the income poverty rate for those aged 66 to 75 stood at 31.4%, more than half (52.0%) of individuals aged 76 and older were classified as impoverished.
Income inequality among older people is also more pronounced than in other age groups.
The Gini coefficient for disposable income among Koreans aged 66 and older is 0.376, higher than the overall population’s coefficient of 0.331 and well above the OECD average of 0.306.