Pain or pleasure?

By Kim Jong-chan

Many Korean baby boomers have not saved much for retirement. They are retiring in their mid-50s, whereas their life expectancy is rising fast.

According to a survey of 4,674 people aged between 47 and 55 released late last month, respondents expected they would live to 80.9 years. As a result, those early retirees will live more than 25 years without due income.

The number of those born from 1955 to 1963 following the end of the 1950-53 Korean War totals 7.13 million or 14.6 percent of the nation's total population. The baby boom ended when the then government adopted a birth control policy.

Latest researches say life expectancy will rise faster than many had anticipated because of the development of medical science.

A survey conducted by a group of researchers led by Park Yoo-sung, a professor of statistics at Korea University in Seoul, said nearly four of 10 men born in 1954 can expect to live to 98. The comparable figure for women stands at 46.2 percent, said the survey released Monday.

They are being laid off at a time when they wish to continue to work for retirement savings. Their assets amount to merely 296.3 million won on average, according to a survey released by the Seoul National University Institute on Aging late last month.

When asked why they could not save more before retirement, 48.4 percent of respondents said this was because of spending for childrearing, particularly for education, and money for their marriage. About 33 percent said they could not save money just because of their livelihood.

Moreover, in traditional Confucian society, people look after their elderly parents. Two-thirds of respondents said they sent an average of 276,000 won or about 10 percent of their monthly spending to parents.

A baby boomer in his mid-50s retired in 2008 after working for a big bank for almost 30 years. He and his wife struggled not only to raise their two kids but also care for aging parents.

His father died two years ago. When his father was alive, the couple cared for him, sending 300,000 won a month to him, among others. Their 25-year-old son graduated from a graduate school in Seoul, and the younger son, 23, is still studying abroad at a university in China.

After retirement, the man, only identified by his surname Kim, worked at the same bank for two years on a contract basis. Months later, he got a new job as consultant at a micro bank, but his monthly salary amounted to 2 million won, less than what he had previously received.

The couple has a house in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul. They bought it with money they saved and the husband's severance pay. As a result, the former banker is short on retirement savings.

President Lee Myung-bak said in his New Year address that now is time to look at a rapidly graying society where people are living more than 30 years after retirement.

Lee, who turned 70 last month, was short on details, only promising to present comprehensive measures to deal with the aging society.

Priority should be placed on increasing job opportunities for elderly citizens. Jobs are the best gift for them.

Greater longevity will be pleasure for some people, but it will be pain for others.

In a recent interview, Song Yang-min, president of the Graduate School of Health and Welfare at the Gachon University of Medicine and Science, presented five points to help baby boomers prepare for retirement.

They are: expect to live to 85 to 90; relocate financial assets with high risks to safer bank accounts; use less for their children and more for their plan; keep expectations low; and exercise for health.