Who should qualify as a 'senior citizen?'

Economy

Published: 01 Feb. 2024, 07:00 Updated: 01 Feb. 2024, 15:54

Who should qualify as a 'senior citizen?'

An older person purchases a senior citizen transportation ticket, for which citizens aged 65 or older are eligible, at Samseong Station in Seoul in February, 2023. [NEWS1]

The intensifying debate over Korea's free subway rides program for older adults has thrust a fundamental question into the spotlight: Who, exactly, qualifies as a senior citizen?

Since 1981, Korea has allowed those aged 65 and over to take free rides on the subway.

The policy has once again received attention after the tentatively named New Reform Party, led by former People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok, pledged to scrap the current system that allows free subway rides for the elderly as part of its election campaign on Jan. 18.

Lee proposed that the government instead offer seniors prepaid transportation cards loaded with 120,000 won ($90) every year, which could be used for rail, subway, bus and taxi services.

Heated debate over the policy is expected to continue until April's general election, given its economic implications.

Experts point out that the age criterion set for defining senior citizenship, rather than the debate over freeriding, is essentially the problem at hand.

Some feel that an aging society coupled with a rapidly decreasing working-age population places a substantial financial burden on the younger generation — ultimately raising the question of what age should be considered “senior,” and when people should be eligible to receive welfare benefits such as pensions and incentives.

“A simple [debate over] whether senior citizen transportation benefits should be reduced or not is downplaying the issue,” said Jung Jae-hoon, a professor of social welfare policy at Seoul Women’s University. “The issue of freeriding is connected to economic disparities between senior citizens and welfare sustainability, and, as such, must be regarded as a problem of raising the age criteria,” he added.

Most major social welfare policies for older people sets the eligibility age cutoff at 65, which is the official threshold for senior citizenship in Korea. [LEE JEONG-MIN]

The official standard defining people 65 or older as senior citizens was set in 1981 as part of a preferential treatment scheme for older people under the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act. Though different laws have varying age cutoffs defining a senior citizen, most major welfare policies, including the free transportation program, set the cutoff at 65.

But as the average Korean life span becomes longer, the 40-year-old standard is being questioned.

Around 52.7 percent of older people think “old age” should start between 70 and 74, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s survey of 10,097 senior citizens in 2020.

Older Seoul residents defined the start of old age as an average of 72.6 years on a 2022 survey of 3,010 people.

“I’m turning 65 next year but I don’t feel as if I’m old. I don’t like it when someone calls me an elder,” said a 64-year-old Gyeonggi resident named Park. “I think the age standard for senior citizens could be raised to 68 or 70.”

The increasing financial burden on the working population to pay for senior citizen welfare, accelerated by low birthrates and an aging society, backs the need for a raise in the standard age defining senior citizens.

People aged 70 or older outnumbered those in their 20s for the first time ever in 2023, based on resident registration data compiled by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety last year. There were 6,319,402 people in their 70s compared to the 6,197,486 in their 20s.

Statistics Korea has projected that the old-age dependency ratio — the number of individuals aged 65 and over per 100 people between 15 and 64 — will rise from 27.4 people in 2024 to 104.2 people in 2071.

Older people line up to receive meals at a soup kitchen set up in Tapgol Park, Jongro District, on Jan. 11. [NEWS1]

Consequently, the government is looking into raising the defining age of senior citizens. The Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy reviewed the criterion in March last year on grounds of the burden placed on future generations. “We will get involved in social discussions after considering senior citizens’ willingness to participate in society, their health and income changes,” the committee said.

Their follow-up discussion on the matter, however, has been slow. “We are continuously checking in as social issues such as freeriding garner a lot of attention, but there hasn’t been any distinct progress,” a source from the committee said. “It will be difficult to come up with a solution in a short amount of time, since the stakeholders [in this matter] have opposing views.”

Such discussions have met no shortage of practical obstacles. The older population, who may stand to lose or delay their benefits, for one, oppose the matter. Choi Jin-ho, Ajou University professor emeritus of sociology, says that “discussion must be held in phases, as raising the age standard for senior citizenship is a sensitive matter.” He further called for a cautious approach, saying “there is a need to closely analyze how amending the freeriding system will be of help financially.”

Korea’s elderly poverty and suicide rates, which are the highest among OECD nations, are also pressing factors to consider. The National Assembly Research Service, a policy think tank, said in a 2021 report that “raising the age threshold for Social Security services could make the situation worse.”

Not only that, but if the definition of senior citizenship were to change, health and welfare systems such as those for basic pensions, senior citizen jobs and free vaccination as well as a hefty number of statistics such as employment rates would have to be revised.

Pensions are also a confound, as retirement age is directly connected to retirement income. Those aged 63 and over are currently entitled to national pensions, a threshold that will be pushed back to 65 in 2033. Raising the senior citizenship cutoff could cause misalignment. At such a rate, even those who retired at the legal age of 60 would not be able to avoid an income crevasse. This, in turn, could require alterations to President Yoon Suk Yeol's proposed reforms to government pensions and labor.

“Rather than benefits, it is more important that an environment where the elderly can work is created,” said Kim Won-sik, Konkuk University professor emeritus of economics. “[An amendment to] raise the age threshold for national pensions to 70 and to abolish the legal retirement age should be considered,” he added.

In any case, discussions on redefining senior citizenship cannot be delayed any further.

“It is urgent that we address the matter of revising the age criterion for senior citizenship, as baby boomers now enter the age bracket for the elderly,” welfare policy professor Jung said. “All generations must be involved in coming to an agreement on the matter of revision.”

BY JEONG JONG-HOON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]