By Kim Rahn
Choi is a 43-year-old office worker at a financial firm in Seoul. He thinks he needs to work for at least 20 years more, considering he has to take care of his two preschool children until they enter college and land jobs and to lead a comfortable life with his wife after retirement.
But people usually leave his company in their late 40s. The retirement age of 60 is a dream number these days for middle-aged workers like Choi, as firms don’t want older employees who usually receive larger salaries than younger ones, unless they possess extraordinary skills.
“Concerned about our post-retirement lives, my wife and I set up a pub to augment our finances. But business was not good so we sold it after making a loss. I always feel insecure when thinking about my old age,” he said.
A March survey showed Choi is not alone in his concerns. The poll of 1,580 adults by Open Survey found 60.3 percent of people in their 40s and 76.8 percent of 50-somethings said they are worried about early retirement.
Their expected retirement age was 55, while they wanted to retire at 58.
Only 7.1 percent said they are fully prepared for old age. The rest said they are not ready because of debt, increases in living expenses following price hikes, or childcare costs including expenses for their offsprings’ education or marriage.