To Get Married, You Need '225.41 Million KRW'... For Retirement, '1.9 Billion KRW' Is Considered 'Enough' [Aldonsseuljap]

Those intending to marry are active in 'finance'
vs singles interested in 'insurance'
Marriage costs rise by 10 million KRW annually
No children, no house purchase even with money
Households with children bent under the burden of supporting parents and children
Retirement funds of '1.9 billion KRW' considered 'sufficient'

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These days, we see various family forms.

In the past, it was natural to start a family and have children after getting a job,

but recently, many in their 20s and 30s voluntarily choose to remain single,

and even among those who start families, the number of 'DINK' couples (Double Income No Kids) has increased.

Life events have become a 'choice' rather than a necessity.

Interestingly, depending on these family forms,

there are significant differences in consumption and financial management methods.

Let's take a look at how they differ.

Those intending to marry are active in 'finance' vs singles interested in 'insurance'

According to Hana Financial Research Institute's 'Korea Financial Consumer Report 2025',

the average age of those intending to marry is 32, with a relatively higher proportion of wage earners.

They also had higher income and savings amounts compared to singles.

On the other hand, singles averaged 37 years old, with a higher proportion of women than men.

Those intending to marry have a more aggressive investment tendency,

with a higher rate of subscribing to investment products such as stocks and ETFs,

while singles actively engage in financial life using insurance products like long-term care insurance and savings insurance.

Also, those intending to marry were more proactive in saving for specific goals such as purchasing a home.

Singles prioritized preparing funds for retirement,

and showed interest in leisure and hobby funds, as well as concept-type savings that accumulate small amounts based on mood or specific activities.

Marriage costs rise by 10 million KRW annually

We also checked the marriage funds spent on housing and weddings among newlyweds married within the last three years and those preparing to marry.

Those already married spent an average of 203.5 million KRW,

while those planning to marry expect to spend about 225.41 million KRW,

showing that marriage costs increase by approximately 10 million KRW each year.

Regarding marriage funds, 37% spent less than 100 million KRW,

and 31% spent more than 300 million KRW.

Especially in Seoul and the metropolitan area, where housing prices are high, marriage funds needed were 25% higher than those living in other metropolitan cities.

Also, 77% of marriage funds were self-funded by the couple.

Among those self-funding, 6 out of 10 used loans,

and among those 6, 4 covered more than half of the marriage funds through loans.

In particular, those planning to marry, who have a stronger will to self-fund,

had a 1.4 times higher rate of covering more than half of the funds through loans compared to newlyweds,

confirming that the economic burden from marriage is continuously increasing.

No children, no house purchase even with money

Yonhap News

According to Hana Financial Research Institute's survey, another interesting point is

that childless households are indifferent to buying a house even if they have money.

Childless households had smaller expenditure sizes and a higher average monthly savings amount than households with children.

Although childless households had better saving capacity,

their homeownership rate was 14 percentage points lower than households with children, suggesting a lack of motivation or purchasing power for homeownership.

Ultimately, the total assets of childless households, whose real estate assets were more than 100 million KRW less than those of households with children, were around 600 million KRW,

about 130 million KRW less than households with children.

Also, childless households were relatively passive in searching for financial information and showed lower confidence in financial knowledge compared to households with children.

When subscribing to financial products, they also had a stronger tendency to seek principal protection,

showing a preference for stable products such as fixed deposits and savings.

Households with children had a slightly higher subscription rate to investment products than childless households,

but their high loan holding rate suggested limited capacity to subscribe to various products.

Additionally, households with children had a significantly higher rate of owning pension products than childless households.

Households with children bent under the burden of supporting parents and children

Yonhap News

Looking at family support status among married households with children,

7 to 8 out of 10 support allowances for their children or parents.

Especially, half of the family supporters provide allowances to both children and parents,

highlighting the burden of the 'sandwich generation.'

The rate of supporting parents' allowances was higher in households with children than in childless married households,

and the allowance amount was also higher: 310,000 KRW for childless households and 420,000 KRW for households with children.

Regarding children's allowance, 71% give allowance to elementary school children,

which rises to 92% for high school children,

then decreases to the 80% range after university admission.

Among parents with children, 39% expect to stop giving allowances by their late 20s,

and 25% expect to stop by their early 20s.

However, for unmarried adult children,

more than half responded that the allowance stop point is at age 30 or older,

suggesting that the burden of supporting children may last longer than expected.

Retirement funds of '1.9 billion KRW' considered 'sufficient'

Perceptions about retirement funds also varied.

Eight out of ten married households are preparing for retirement but feel it is insufficient.

The average current total assets of married households are 670 million KRW,

and they expect to secure about 920 million KRW, 250 million KRW more, by retirement.

Among these, real estate accounts for 570 million KRW, or 63%,

and financial assets amount to 210 million KRW. Inheritance and other inherited assets were also about 130 million KRW.

More than half of married respondents felt their expected retirement funds were insufficient,

with only 13% saying they were sufficient.

Those who felt their retirement funds were insufficient had about 570 million KRW,

while those who felt sufficient had about 1.86 billion KRW.

With the emergence of various family forms such as single-person households, single households, and childless households,

differences are also seen in consumption, spending, and investment.

This suggests that financial products are becoming more diverse as well.

Moreover, when investing, it is important not only to consider individual tendencies,

but also to take into account life events and life cycles,

to decide whether to pursue aggressive or stability-oriented investments.

We hope today's information was useful to our readers,

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