“Age Shouldn’t Be a Barrier…If You’re Healthy, You Should Be Able to Work” [ESF2025]

[Jiyu Kong, Edaily Reporter] “To resolve income gaps, we need to both raise the official age of seniors and promote continued employment through labor market reform. Ultimately, anyone who wants to work and is able to do so, regardless of age, should have the opportunity. What we need is an ‘age-integrated approach.’”

In an interview with Edaily, Professor Sun-dul Jeong from Ewha Womans University’s Department of Social Welfare said, “We need to ease restrictions that prevent people from participating in the labor market solely based on age.” Former president of the Korean Gerontological Society, Professor Jeong will be speaking at the 16th Edaily Strategy Forum on June 18, where she will discuss ways to resolve social conflict arising from extending the retirement age.

Sun-dul Jeong from Professor of Social Welfare Department at Ewha Womans University.(Photo=Young-hoon Lee)

“ Pension and Retirement Should Be Delayed Together”

10 experts, including professor Jeong, Jae-chan Song, Secretary General of the Korean Senior Citizens Association, and Sam-sik Lee, Director of Hanyang University’s Institute of Aging Society, proposed gradually raising the elderly age threshold from 65 to 70 over the next decade. This proposal came after a Ministry of Health and Welfare roundtable in February to discuss the social implications of the elderly age standard.

Specifically, the experts suggest raising the elderly age by 1 year every 2 years until 2035. When the Elderly Welfare Act was enacted in 1981, life expectancy was 67.9 years; by 2023, it had risen to 83.5. If we define “elderly” as the age at which the remaining life expectancy is 15 years, the threshold has increased from 62 in 1980 to 73 in 2023.

Looking abroad, Australia has abolished mandatory retirement ages, and there are calls to raise the pension eligibility age (currently 67). In the UK, except for certain professions like police, firefighters, and pilots, the retirement age has also been eliminated. “Other countries are moving away from fixed elderly age standards and instead setting eligibility ages for pension and welfare benefits,” Professor Jeong explained. “Given Korea’s rapid aging, we need to discuss both delaying pension start ages and raising the elderly age threshold.”

Professor Jeong stressed the importance of labor and pension reform alongside raising the elderly age. “The National Pension’s eligibility age will be raised to 65 by 2033, but labor market reform hasn’t kept pace. To address income gaps, we need to align retirement and pension start ages,” she said, adding that retirement ages should be increased. “Some seniors want to work until 70, while others may only want to work a couple of days a week, so we need flexible work options,” she noted.

“Senior Jobs Don’t necessaruky lead to Intergenerational Conflict”

Some worry that raising the retirement age will reduce job opportunities for young people and worsen social conflict. Professor Jeong disagrees: “If seniors are rehired after retirement rather than kept as full-time workers, their salaries are lower, which allows for more new hires. In fact, it can boost youth employment.” She added, “Seniors can’t take jobs in fields like IT that young people want. Given differences in physical ability, skills, and knowledge, seniors can fill roles that younger people avoid, creating a win-win model.”

Ultimately, Professor Jeong argues for an “age-integrated approach” that allows anyone with the desire and ability to work to do so, regardless of age. “Currently, life is segmented, education until college, work in middle age, and rest in old age. Instead, we need a structure where people can continue to learn and work even in old age,” she said. “Abolishing mandatory retirement, as seen in the U.S. and U.K., is in line with this trend, and Korea should move in the same direction.”

To address senior poverty, Professor Jeong calls for targeted support for the most vulnerable. “This year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s spending on elderly welfare is about 27 trillion KRW, with 22 trillion KRW going to the basic pension. Most of it is spent on basic pensions, but if we concentrate support on the poorest seniors, we can alleviate elderly poverty,” she said.

She also emphasized the need for quality private-sector jobs to boost seniors’ incomes. “Public-sector jobs for seniors are funded by taxes, which isn’t ideal. We need more private-sector jobs where seniors can use their skills and talents without relying on taxpayer money,” she said.

About Professor Soon-dul Jeong…

△Bachelor’s in Social Work, Ewha Womans University, △Master’s in Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University, △Ph.D. in Social Welfare, University of Texas, △Advisor, Presidential Committee on Low Fertility and Aging Society, △33rd President, Korean Gerontological Society, △Co-chair, Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Elderly Age Expert Roundtable, △

Professor, Department of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University”