[Insight & Opinion] The Three Pillars of Welfare in a Super-Aged Society: Health, Education, and Employment

Over 10 Million People Aged 65 and Over,
But Average Monthly Pension Is Only 650,000 Won
Proactive, Preventive Measures Needed for Seniors
A New Perspective Required for Policy Design

Finally, South Korea has entered a super-aged society. The population aged 65 and over, which was only 3.6% of the total population, or 910,000 people, in 1960, has exceeded 20% of the total population, surpassing 10 million as of the end of 2024. This is rapid aging as compressed as the country's economic growth.

Low birth rates are a problem, but super-aging is also a major issue. Even now, the medical expenses for those aged 65 and over account for 45% of total healthcare costs, and this proportion will continue to increase. Due to the gap between healthy life expectancy and overall life expectancy, elderly people live with illnesses for an average of more than 15 years. Although it is on the rise, the current average monthly pension amount for those aged 65 and over is only 650,000 won. They inevitably suffer from the double hardship of disease and poverty. Moreover, life expectancy continues to increase, so if this trend continues, the period of suffering from poverty and illness will also increase proportionally. That is not all. The reality is that millions of healthy retired elderly want to continue working but there are not enough jobs available. This is why measures to address the super-aged society are urgently needed beyond just low birth rate policies.

It is true that various policies for the elderly have been implemented so far. For example, the Basic Old-Age Pension Act was enacted in 2007, providing up to 200,000 won per month to the bottom 70% income elderly, and this was raised to a maximum of 300,000 won per month starting in 2021. There are also services such as care for elderly living alone, long-term care insurance for the elderly, and senior employment projects. The problem is that these policies are now insufficient. A new perspective on policy design for the elderly is needed.

New elderly policies should focus on proactive preventive measures targeting the majority of the elderly. This approach is more effective and requires less budget. For example, there are many health programs for the elderly now, but they are temporary programs for some elderly individuals. The central government and local governments nationwide should cooperate to create and spread health and sports programs for the elderly that are as mandatory as elementary education. By doing so, almost all elderly people nationwide can participate daily in health and sports classes as if attending school regularly. Expanding projects similar to Seoul’s citizen health program ‘Sonmok Doctor 9988,’ which promotes walking, to all elderly nationwide could be a good alternative. This would help all elderly people nationwide develop a healthy lifestyle habit of walking more than 8,000 steps daily.

Lifelong education that builds capabilities is also an important aspect of elderly welfare. Although there are various educational programs for the elderly now, they still only serve some elderly individuals. Like mandatory elementary education, it is necessary for the majority of elderly people to receive essential education for capability development.

We are now in the era of 100-year lifespans. The 6-3-3-4 education system is far from sufficient to live a lifetime based on what was learned in childhood. It is time to create a new 100-year education system. Laws and systems should be revised to allow four-year universities and junior colleges nationwide to more freely serve as lifelong learning institutions for adults, and sustainable financial support measures should be established, utilizing local education finance grants to create a national education and learning fund. As the capabilities of the elderly increase, their employment and welfare possibilities will also grow proportionally.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Based on the existing scattered elderly welfare programs, let us integrate and systematize them into a three-set of health welfare, educational welfare, and employment welfare, strengthening them with a focus on proactive preventive programs. This is the path to creating a vibrant super-aged society in South Korea through 10 million healthy and capable elderly people.

Kim Hyungon, Invited Professor at Chungnam National University Graduate School of Public Policy · Former Director of the National Assembly Future Research Institute