Young Koreans Once Saved for Retirement. Increasingly, They Invest for It.
For many years, South Koreans prepared for retirement mainly by saving money in banks and relying on the National Pension. However, younger people are increasingly using stocks and bonds as part of their retirement plans. Government data shows that this change has been especially noticeable among people in their 20s and 30s.
Among people aged 19 to 29, 12.8% said they used stocks and bonds to prepare for retirement in 2025. This was much higher than the 2.6% recorded in 2011. Among people in their 30s, the percentage increased from 2.8% to 13.4% during the same period.
The biggest change happened around 2021, when many individual investors in South Korea started investing in the stock market. In 2019, only 1.4% of people in their 20s and 2.7% of those in their 30s used stocks and bonds for retirement. By 2021, these numbers had increased to 11.6% and 11.3%.
Older people are also using stocks and bonds more than before, but the increase has been smaller. Among people in their 40s, the percentage increased to 8% in 2025 from 2.4% in 2011. For people in their 50s, it rose to 6%, while among people aged 60 and older, it reached 3.1%.
Despite this change, traditional retirement plans remain more popular. In 2025, 71% of Koreans aged 19 and older said they would rely on the National Pension, while 44.1% mentioned bank deposits, savings, and savings-type insurance. Among younger people, these traditional methods are also common. However, the growing use of stocks and bonds suggests that young Koreans are becoming more willing to accept investment risk when preparing for their future.
Edited using generative AI tools.
Source:http://koreabizwire.com/young-koreans-once-saved-for-retirement-increasingly-they-invest-for-it/358897 |
