51.2 percent of senior citizens stated that they predicted they could live out their lives without economic worry. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — According to a recent national survey on civil rights focusing on senior citizens, 7 out of 10 young and middle-aged adults said they expected to encounter economic hardship during the rest of the lives.
This is in sharp contrast to senior citizens, more than half of whom responded saying that they expected to live out the remaining duration of their lives without having to worry about money.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea carried out the survey between May and November last year during which 500 young and middle-aged adults between 18 and 65 years of age and 1,000 senior citizens over 65 years old were queried.
The results of the survey were announced yesterday.
This was the first time that a comprehensive survey on the civic rights of senior citizens was performed on a national level.
The survey encompassed six categories: health and care, basic living essentials, income, employment, social involvement and safety.
Only 34.6 percent of young and middle-aged adults who participated in the survey said that they felt they could “live without economic hardship in their later years.”
More men (37.9 percent) than women (31.1 percent) felt they could live without economic hardship.
In addition, the higher educated the individual (40 percent, graduate degrees and above), the more confident they felt about being prepared economically for the future, compared the those who only had high school diplomas or less education (25 percent).
Meanwhile, 51.2 percent of senior citizens stated that they predicted they could live out their lives without economic worry.
More male seniors (55.8 percent) than their female counterparts (47.9 percent) were optimistic about their future prospects.
Song Oh-yeong of the National Human Rights Commission said that senior citizens may be feeling more optimistic about their situation compared to the actual conditions that they may be facing in the future.
H. S. Seo (hsseo@koreabizwire.com)
