(STATE COLLEGE, PENN.) In December 2024, the share of South Koreans ages 65 and older surpassed 20% for the first time, making it what demographers like us call a “super-aged society.” By August 2026 that share had risen further, to 22.1%.
That label can sound like a diagnosis, but population aging is not inherently a problem. In part, it reflects demographic progress: Fewer people are dying prematurely, and people are living longer due to improved living conditions. Thus, an older population can simply be a sign of society having grown safer, healthier and demographically more mature.
The central concern, then, is not simply that a population is aging, but how quickly it is aging and whether society is prepared for it. South Korea moved from an aging society, meaning 7%-13% of a population is over 64, to a super-aged society in about 24 years. This transition was considerably faster than Japan, where it took 35 years. In the United States, older adults are projected to make up 23.4% of the population by 2060.
By 2060, about 41% of South Koreans are projected to be 65 or older, which would place the country to become the oldest. The country will face growing pressure on pensions, healthcare, workplaces and caregiving systems, but will have relatively little time to adapt.
We research population health and aging. In our most recent study, published in July 2026, we examined how South Korea is dealing with its aging population. South Korea is not the first country to become a super-aged society, but the pace of its demographic transition has been exceptionally rapid. We believe its experience offers an early view of the choices many societies will soon face.
Changing family life
In the 1990s, the largest age groups were those between 15 and 34.
Now, more than 30 years later, the youngest of these are more than 45 years old, and the oldest have already reached retirement age, which in South Korea is 60. Notably, the share of people ages 30 and younger is shrinking.
South Korea’s aging is also connected to a broader shift in fertility, family formation and family life. As people gain greater individual autonomy in deciding how to organize their lives, there is a demographic transition toward sustained low fertility, later marriage and parenthood, and more diverse family arrangements. Today, South Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world.
Economic challenges
South Korea is still wrestling with the financial implications of being a super-aged society.
The country’s retirement system relies mainly on the National Pension Service, a pension fund financed by contributions from workers, employers and the self-employed, and the Basic Pension, a separate, tax-funded benefit for lower-income adults ages 65 and older.
But unless something changes, the national pension fund is projected to be depleted by 2054. Many older adults have incomplete pension contribution histories and receive only modest benefits. Among those born before 1950, poverty rates are higher due to limited access to pensions and limited wealth accumulation.
According to the latest Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, data, South Korea has the highest old-age income poverty rate among the OECD’s 38 member countries: 39.7% of people ages 66 and older live on less than half the national median household disposable income, compared with the OECD average of 14.8%.
Despite multiple efforts at policy reform, economic insecurity persists among older adults in South Korea.
Because many older adults are asset rich but cash poor – with more than 80% of their assets in real estate but only 12.4% in savings – many are pairing the Basic Pension with reverse mortgages to turn their assets into disposable income.
Raising the retirement age
Because pensions fall short for so many, South Korea has a high employment rate among older adults.
In fact, the average age at which South Korean older adults leave the workforce is higher than that in any of the other OECD countries. While men typically leave their longest-held job at about age 51, they continue to work until around age 72. Many spend those years in lower-paying, less secure “second careers.
Simply raising the retirement age is insufficient. South Korea is currently debating whether to gradually raise the statutory retirement age from 60 to 65. This would allow workers to remain in their primary careers longer, in order to narrow the gap between retirement and pension benefit eligibility.
But while this might ease financial pressures or improve older workers’ income security, it could also negatively affect the upward mobility of younger workers if older employees remain in senior positions for longer.
For now, South Korea has already begun making changes to both pension financing and late career employment. A 2025 pension reform will gradually raise the national pension contribution rate from 9% to 13% by 2033 and set the target replacement rate – that is, the share of preretirement income that the pension is designed to replace – at 43%.
New healthcare needs
One of the biggest challenges for South Korea’s rapidly aging society is healthcare.
In 2008, South Korea introduced long term care insurance, which supports home care, nursing, rehabilitation, daycare, assistive devices and residential care for people with physical or cognitive needs. The program is financed through National Health Insurance, government funding and user copays.
Adults ages 65 and older can qualify if they are assessed as having difficulty performing daily activities or have specific age-related conditions, such as dementia or cerebrovascular disease. Eligibility is not income-based, although lower-income beneficiaries pay reduced or no copays.
Demand for services is rising rapidly. In 2024, 10.8% of people 65 and older and 31.9% of those at least 80 were certified for benefits, and these percentages are expected to increase.
But the program isn’t perfect: Families still provide substantial care, the care workforce is concentrated among older women in economically insecure jobs, and rural areas have fewer services and limited infrastructure to address the growing needs. It also doesn’t help that many older South Koreans worry about becoming a burden on their families.
Staying connected
Mental health and social connection have also become important components of South Korea’s response to population aging. South Korea has the highest suicide rate in the OECD, and the suicide rate among adults 65 and older was higher than in other age groups.
Social isolation is another growing concern. According to the 2023 National Survey of Older Koreans, 6.6% of adults 65 and older reported having no one they could turn to for help when they were sick, feeling discouraged or depressed, or facing an urgent financial need. The share rose from 4.6% among those between 65 and 69 to 12.9% among those 85 and older.
The same national survey documented that 4.8% of older adults reported physical, sexual or emotional abuse in the previous year, while 26.3% reported age discrimination in at least one everyday setting. These vulnerabilities can intersect with access to care, particularly among older adults with low incomes or functional limitations.
Risks and vulnerabilities are especially high for people living alone, those in poor health and rural residents. Visits, phone calls and community programs help, but these cannot replace adequate income, transportation, healthcare, housing or sustained social and family relationships.
Takeaways for other countries
When our team compared South Korea’s experience to that of other aging societies at different stages of demographic transition, it became clear that South Korea’s policies cannot simply be copied and implemented elsewhere.
What travels more easily are the broader lessons South Korea can offer societies that are earlier in their demographic transitions and therefore have more time to prepare.
South Korea highlights the need to build long-term care capacity before existing systems become overwhelmed. It also demonstrates why policymakers need to coordinate pension reforms with employment policy, rather than attempting to fix just one or the other. South Korea also underscores the need to design programs for older adults to reach rural and disadvantaged communities.
But the strongest lesson from South Korea is about timing: Aging societies have more options when they act before fiscal pressure, labor shortages and unmet care needs become severe. South Korea has created important institutions and continues to adapt the system as needs change, especially in long-term care, but its experience also shows the costs of allowing policy and public attitudes to lag behind demographic reality.
This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Jeongmin Park, Penn State and Alexis R. Santos, Penn State
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Jeongmin Park is a Ph.D. candidate in Human Development and Family Studies and Demography at The Pennsylvania State University. She is affiliated with the Center for Healthy Aging and the Population Research Institute.
Alexis R. Santos-Lozada is affiliated with the Population Research Institute and the Center for Healthy Aging at Pennsylvania State University. He is also a Social Disparities faculty at the Social Sciences Research Institute.
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