61.2% identified real estate as their top choice for retirement planning if they could begin again. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 18 (Korea Bizwire) — If given the chance to restart their retirement planning, South Korean retirees would overwhelmingly choose real estate investment as their primary strategy, according to a new national survey released today by the Korea Insurance Development Institute.
The survey, conducted last November across South Korea’s 17 provinces and major cities, gathered responses from men and women aged 30 to 75, revealing striking differences between current workers’ and retirees’ investment preferences.
While both groups currently rely heavily on traditional savings accounts, insurance products, and the National Pension Service for their retirement planning, their preferred strategies show a marked divergence when asked about hypothetical fresh starts.
Among current retirees, 61.2% identified real estate as their top choice for retirement planning if they could begin again, despite only 38.6% currently utilizing property investments. The finding suggests a significant shift in perspective after retirement, possibly influenced by their lived experiences managing retirement finances.
In contrast, working professionals displayed more conventional preferences, with savings accounts remaining their top choice at 68.9%. However, they showed increased interest in higher-yield financial products, ranking private pensions (62.4%) and investment vehicles such as funds, stocks, and bonds (49.9%) as their second and third choices, respectively. This marks a notable departure from current retirement planning patterns, where the National Pension Service and severance benefits traditionally hold these positions.
The survey also explored health-related concerns, finding that both retirees and current workers identified dementia as their primary health worry for their later years. When asked about their willingness to enter specialized care facilities for age-related conditions such as dementia or stroke, approximately half of current workers and 40% of retirees expressed openness to the idea.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
