'What Should We Do?' Monthly 3.5 Million Won Needed... Korea's Retirement Preparation Rated 'Most Inadequate'

KB Financial Group Releases "2025 KB Golden Life Report" on September 28
Koreans Begin Financial Preparation for Retirement at Average Age of 48
Only 19.1% of Households Feel Well-Prepared for Retirement

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Koreans believe that the appropriate monthly living expenses for retirement should be 3.5 million won, while the minimum required is 2.48 million won. However, the actual amount they expect to secure is only 2.3 million won per month, which is just 65.7% of the appropriate living expenses.

On September 28, KB Financial Group published the "2025 KB Golden Life Report" and revealed these findings. The report is based on a survey conducted from May 30 to June 18 with 3,000 men and women aged 25 to 74 living in major cities across South Korea, including Seoul. In addition, in-depth focus group interviews were conducted with a separate panel.

More than 60% of Korean households plan to use pensions-including the National Pension, retirement pensions, private pensions, and home pensions-to cover their retirement living expenses, indicating high expectations for pension income. Other expected sources include real estate income, earned income, and support from the government or family.

Regarding the home pension, 92.2% of respondents were aware of it, but only 32.3% of households expressed an intention to enroll. Meanwhile, 59.7% of respondents said they were willing to downsize their homes to prepare retirement funds, preferring to do so in their 70s. They planned to deposit the funds into checking or savings accounts and use them for living expenses.

The most common age at which respondents begin preparing financially for retirement was "50 to 54," cited by 16.1%. Koreans hope to retire at age 65, but in reality, they retire nine years earlier, leaving insufficient time to prepare financially for retirement.

For a happy retirement, Koreans identified "health" (48.6%) and "financial capability" (26.3%) as the most important factors. Only 19.1% of households felt they were well-prepared for retirement. Regarding "financial capability," which was highlighted as a key element of retirement happiness, only one in five respondents (21.1%) said they had sufficient financial resources for retirement, indicating this is the area where preparation is most lacking.

In addition, 80.4% of respondents agreed with the global trend of "Aging in Place (AIP)"-living independently and safely in a familiar home or neighborhood during old age. This figure is up 14.3 percentage points from 66.1% in 2023, showing that this trend is increasingly spreading in Korean society.

When asked about the physical scope of the "neighborhood" as defined by AIP, the largest share of respondents (39.2%) chose "within a 30-minute walk." The most preferred neighborhood infrastructure for retirement included medical facilities, convenient transportation, natural environments such as parks, and shopping facilities.

Hwang Wonkyung, head of the KB Financial Group Management Research Institute, said, "Korean society has already entered a super-aged era, but economic preparation for retirement remains insufficient despite the intention to do so. We hope this report will serve as a practical retirement preparation guide for those approaching retirement and as foundational data for building institutional support systems to address the growing elderly population at the societal level."