More Elderly People Work to Make Ends Meet

Senior citizens' total earnings surged 84 percent from 2016 to 2020 as more elderly people found jobs to make ends meet and more work opportunities became available to them as part of the government's efforts to create jobs.

According to data from the National Tax Service, senior citizens' annual earnings in 2020 totaled W70.2 trillion, up 84 percent compared to W38.2 trillion in 2016 (US$1=W1,440). Over the same period, wages earned by all other age groups increased only 25.2 percent.

The number of senior citizens working paid jobs rose from 1.55 million in 2016 to 2.47 million in 2020, while their per-capita earnings also increased 15.7 percent from W24.6 million a year to W28.5 million.