Elderly people less reliant on children

By Choi Sung-jin

In making a living, elderly Koreans increasingly rely on themselves rather than their children, a government report said Sunday.

Also, Koreans in all age groups want the government to help them get jobs, increase income and receive more medical and nursing services when they get old, the report said.

According to Statistics Korea’s “2015 Social Survey Report,” to the question of how respondents get money to live, 66.6 percent of people over 60 replied they, and their spouses, made their own living, up 3 percentage points from 63.6 percent in 2013.

The share of aged people living on savings has fallen while people who still work to earn a living after 60 rose in portion, from 53.1 percent to 54.4 percent, over the cited period.

The share of aged people living on property income dropped from 12.2 percent to 11.7 percent, and the portion of savings as the source of living expenses fell sharply from 9.9 percent to 6.3 percent, reflecting the steep fall in interest rates.

Those who depend on financial aid from the government and social organizations also increased from 6.6 percent to 10.4 percent.

Those who rely on support from children and relatives plunged from 29.8 percent to 23.0 percent. The older the respondents, the higher the portion depending on relatives, government and social groups rose.

Among household heads aged 19 or older, 72.7 percent said they were preparing for old age. People in their 30s and 40s were most actively preparing for old age with their shares of positive replies standing at 86 percent and 83.8 percent, respectively. The largest portion, or 55.1 percent, was relying on national pensions.

Among those 60 or older, 27 percent of respondents tended to rely on children, down from 31.7 percent two years before, indicating their strengthened awareness of the need to solve their old age problems themselves, the report said.

In response to questions about social concerns for old age, respondents cited after-retirement income (40.4 percent), jobs (26.3 percent), health care and nursing services (19.1 percent). People in all age groups put income support ahead of all else they want from the government, but those aged 19-59 put relative emphasis on employment support while those 60 or older wanted health care and nursing more.

The share of people who think Koreans can raise their social and economic standing in their own generations through hard work stood at 21.8 percent, down 6.4 percentage points from 28.2 percent in 2013.

Those who positively replied about such a possibility in their children’s generation was 31 percent, a little higher than chances for their own generation, but marking a steeper drop of 8.9 percentage points from 39.9 percent two years earlier.

Six out of 10 employed people felt anxiety about losing jobs or being forced to change jobs, with 16.4 percent of respondents saying they were “very anxious.” The sense of unease was particularly high among sales people or those performng simple labor or functions.

Asked what spending they would reduce first if household financial conditions deteriorated, the respondents cited dining-out costs (49.2 percent), food expenses (32.8 percent), clothing (31.8 percent) and culture-leisure costs (30.3 percent).

Particularly people aged 60 or older replied they would cut spending on food (37.8 percent) and fuel (36.8 percent) first, reflecting the increasingly serious problem of poverty among the elderly, the report said.