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Human rights watchdog calls for raising legal retirement age to 65

Published: 10 Mar. 2025, 15:53

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea [YONHAP]

The state human rights watchdog recommended Monday that the nation's statutory retirement age be raised from 60 to 65.

In a recommendation sent to the prime minister and the labor minister, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said the relative poverty rate of the retirement-age population is high among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the upward revision of the retirement age is needed to guarantee the right of elderly workers to live a decent life.

The NHRCK also noted that even though the legal retirement age is 60, the age at which people start receiving the national pension is 65, creating an income gap.

However, the commission stressed the need to implement a policy to support wages for the elderly in order to prevent the revision of the retirement age from leading to negative outcomes, such as a decrease in new hiring of younger people.

It also recommended that tax benefits and financial support be extended to companies that introduce a peak wage system.

Yonhap