New data finds that the nation’s poverty rate among the population aged 65 or older continued to decline in 2021.

According to Statistics Korea on Thursday, 37-point-six percent of the elderly population lived in poverty in 2021, down one-point-three percentage points from 2020, when it fell to the 30-percent range for the first time after continuously remaining in the 40-percent range.

The poverty rate refers to the ratio of people whose earnings fall below 50 percent of the median income.

Experts attributed the drop to the introduction of the basic pension system in July 2014, which is offered to seniors aged 65 and older in the bottom 70-percent income bracket.

The amount stood at 200-thousand won when it was first introduced before steadily rising to 300-thousand won from 2021. Starting from this month, the basic pension for eligible seniors has increased to 323-thousand-180 won a month.

Though the poverty rate among this demographic has continuously declined since 2011, South Korea’s level is the highest among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD), being two-point-eight times the OECD average of 13-and-a-half percent.

Source: KBS World Radio