74% of Seoul Citizens Aged 50+ Support Raising Elderly Age to 65

Approval Rate Among Those Aged 60-64, Just Before 65, Stands at 58%

Among Seoul citizens aged 50 and older, 7 out of 10 currently support raising the elderly age standard from 65.

On the 17th, Lee Suk-ja, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council's Steering Committee, disclosed the results of a public opinion survey titled "Improvement of Elderly Age Standards and Citizens' Awareness of Senior Welfare Services," conducted from December 3 to 6 last year with 600 Seoul citizens aged 50 and above. 74% of all respondents supported raising the elderly age standard, while 24% opposed it.

Elderly people waiting for lunch. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

This survey was conducted via web surveys across five districts of Seoul. The sampling error is ±4.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. However, the approval rate among the 60-64 age group, who are approaching the current elderly age of 65, was 58%, somewhat lower than the over 70% approval rates recorded in other age groups.

Regarding the appropriate standard for elderly age, "70 years and older" was the most selected at 59%, followed by "65 years and older" (25%), "75 years and older" (12%), and "80 years and older" (1%).

When examining reasons for raising the age standard, 57% answered that it is justified based on actual physical ability and health aspects, accounting for more than half. Other reasons included "to reduce the burden on future generations" (34%) and "expectation of future retirement age extension" (9%).

Regarding Seoul's senior welfare policies, 61% responded that they are doing well. However, the average usage experience of major senior welfare programs in Seoul remained at about 7%.

The service areas that should be prioritized first among senior welfare policies were "caregiving support" (24%), "jobs" (21%), and "public medical support" (21%), in that order.

Chairperson Lee stated, "We were able to confirm a social consensus on raising the elderly age standard. However, for age groups close to benefiting from senior welfare policies, careful opinion gathering is necessary, and it is important to consider a phased approach to raising the elderly age standard by service type." She added, "Based on these survey results, the Seoul Metropolitan Council will closely review related policies and projects and suggest improvement directions to provide effective and sustainable senior welfare services centered on actual demand, such as caregiving support, senior job support, and public medical support."