Nearly half of the individuals over 50 years old find themselves without support in times of sudden financial need. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent study by the National Pension Research Institute has uncovered a concerning reality for South Korea’s older population. Nearly half of the individuals over 50 years old find themselves without support in times of sudden financial need.
As part of the study, over 6,200 people aged 50 and above were surveyed. It explored their readiness to handle three urgent scenarios requiring outside help.
According to the findings, 87.3% of respondents had someone to rely on for household chores in case of illness, with an average of 2.01 people available for assistance. Similarly, 87.8% had someone to talk to during times of discouragement or depression, with an average of 2.51 people to confide in.
However, only 49.4% of the middle-aged and elderly respondents had someone to turn to for financial help in emergencies, with an average of just 1.76 people willing to lend them money.
Overall, only 48.8% of respondents reported having support in all three areas: household help, financial assistance, and emotional support. Another 34% had help in two scenarios, while 10.2% had support in just one. Alarmingly, 7% of respondents lacked any support in these situations.
The likelihood of lacking support was higher among those who were older, had lower education levels, were single, unemployed, living alone, residing in Seoul, or belonging to lower income brackets.
The study also delved into the most supportive figures over the past year. Spouses topped the list at 66.5%, followed by children (26%), siblings (2.3%), friends (2%), and parents or parents-in-law (1.7%).
When it came to conflicts experienced in the past year, economic issues (10.1%) and lifestyle differences like drinking, smoking, or late returns home (7.9%) were common among spouses. The conflict intensity generally scored between 2.52 and 2.68 out of a maximum of 5 points, indicating moderate severity.
Conflicts related to children’s marriage, parental support, domestic chores division, and understanding of spouses’ leisure activities were relatively low, ranging from 0.9% to 2.5%.
For those living with their children, the main conflict revolved around their children’s careers, relationships, and marriage (8.6%). For those not cohabiting, economic requests from children were the leading cause of disputes (1.7%).
The most common leisure activity among middle-aged and elderly individuals was watching TV (77.1% on weekdays and 73% on weekends), often spending 3-4 hours daily.
The primary barriers to leisure activities included financial constraints (25.2%), lack of time (17.9%), insufficient information or programs (17.8%), poor health or physical ability (13.2%), and lack of facilities (12.2%).
Regarding regular exercise, 49.5% engaged in it routinely, while 36.6% hardly exercised. On average, those who exercised did so 5.25 times a month, spending about 1.04 hours per session.
Smoking was prevalent among 8.9% of the respondents, while 27.7% reported regular alcohol consumption.
Overall life satisfaction scored an average of 3.45 out of 5, with 48.8% expressing some level of satisfaction and 46.1% considering their life as average.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
