Gyeonggi-do Job Foundation: "92.5% of Gyeonggi-do Residents See Need for Retirement Extension and Continuous Employment"

According to a recent survey, 92.5% of Gyeonggi-do residents have a positive perception of the "continuous employment system," which allows people to keep working even after the age of 60, and there are high expectations for the introduction of this system.

The continuous employment system refers to measures that maintain the employment of older workers by either extending or abolishing the retirement age, continuing to employ workers who have reached the retirement age without changing the retirement policy, or rehiring them after retirement, in workplaces that currently operate under a mandatory retirement system.

The Gyeonggi-do Job Foundation announced on September 9 the results of its "Gyeonggi-do Residents' Perception Survey on Retirement Extension and Continuous Employment," which was conducted from June 2 to June 8 among 1,500 adults aged 25 to 59 residing in Gyeonggi-do.

This survey comprehensively analyzed various aspects related to continuous employment, including retirement age extension, reemployment after retirement, improvement of job skills, and policy priorities.

When asked about the expected benefits of extending the retirement age, "stabilizing the lives of older workers" was the most cited at 64.0%. This was followed by "reducing social support costs" (42.6%) and "improving pension finances" (35.0%). On the other hand, the main concerns were "a decrease in new hires among young people" (47.6%), "benefits being concentrated in some large corporations and public institutions" (35.2%), and "increased labor costs for companies" (26.3%).

When the expected benefits of retirement extension were rated on a five-point scale and analyzed by age group, those in their 20s and 30s showed relatively high expectations for reducing social support costs (3.56 points for those in their 20s, 3.71 points for those in their 30s) and helping pension finances (3.54 points for those in their 20s, 3.61 points for those in their 30s). Those in their 40s and 50s expressed significantly higher expectations than the younger generations regarding the utilization of highly skilled workers and the transfer of know-how (3.68 points for those in their 40s, 3.85 points for those in their 50s) and alleviating labor shortages (3.44 points for those in their 40s, 3.59 points for those in their 50s).

Gyeonggi-do Job Foundation

There were also clear differences by age group regarding preferred methods of continuous employment.

Respondents in their 20s and 30s preferred reemployment after retirement (35.7% for those in their 20s, 33.9% for those in their 30s) over extending the retirement age (24.6% for those in their 20s, 31.8% for those in their 30s), while those in their 40s and 50s favored extending the retirement age (36.6% for those in their 40s, 46.7% for those in their 50s) over reemployment after retirement (30.0% for those in their 40s, 28.2% for those in their 50s).

Regarding reemployment after retirement, there was high interest in "fairness" and "wage levels."

Meanwhile, 51.8% of respondents in their 40s and 66.1% of those in their 50s who are currently employed indicated their intention to continue working even after reaching retirement age. The average desired working age was 67.74 years.

Kim Yoonjung, a research fellow at the Gyeonggi-do Job Foundation, stated, "This survey confirmed not only the high social acceptance and expectations for the implementation of continuous employment, but also the concerns and burdens felt by young people and small and medium-sized enterprises. It is necessary to simultaneously address concerns about reduced new hiring and promotion limitations among young people, while also expanding the participation of middle-aged and older workers in the labor market."