In South Korea, one of the fastest-aging societies in the developed world, growing old no longer reliably signals a transition into retirement. For a rising number of seniors, it marks a shift into low-paid, part-time work that helps cover the most basic expense of all: food.
New survey data show that participants in a government-backed senior employment program earned an average of about $280 a month last year, and spent 65.0% of that income on meals. More than half said they joined the program to pay for essential living costs, a sign that retirement income alone is proving insufficient—even in a country with near-universal pension coverage.
The figures, released by the Korea Senior Human Resources Development Institute, offer a stark view of how economic insecurity is reshaping later life in an aging economy. Work, for many older Koreans, is becoming less a choice than a financial necessity—a final buffer against slipping into hardship.
The program places seniors in part-time roles such as caregiving, administrative support and light-duty assignments at private companies. But the pay remains limited. About 70.5% of participants reported earning less than $200 a month, while only 7.0% earned $690 or more. Participants’ annual income was less than half that of nonparticipants, underscoring how thin the line has become between working and struggling.
The demographic profile of those in the program points to who is bearing the greatest burden. Women accounted for 61.8% of participants, and 39.6% were aged 75 or older, suggesting that longevity and income vulnerability converge most sharply among the oldest Koreans. Nearly half reported lacking internet access, highlighting how financial insecurity can overlap with social and technological isolation.
Spending patterns reveal just how constrained these earnings are. Food absorbed the largest share, followed by healthcare and housing-related costs. Discretionary spending was largely absent. Many participants said they would prefer to work more hours for higher pay, ideally earning about $415 a month—a figure that still implies subsistence rather than comfort.
Yet satisfaction with the program remained surprisingly high, averaging 4.10 out of five, despite frequent complaints about physical strain and challenging work environments. The contradiction—low wages, strong approval—reflects a reality in which continued employment offers not prosperity but stability: routine, social contact and a sense of control at a stage of life increasingly shaped by financial limits.
South Korea’s experience is not so much an anomaly as an early signal. As populations age and traditional retirement systems come under pressure, work itself is becoming a central pillar of survival in old age. For countries aging more slowly, the same shift may simply be arriving later.
