A Korean's economic life unfolds in three stages: a deficit from birth, a surplus during working years, and a return to deficit after retirement.
The per-capita life-cycle deficit peaks at age 16, reaching 46.04 million won, according to the 2024 National Transfer Accounts released by the National Data Agency on the 17th. That is when education spending concentrates ahead of college entrance exams. Consumption exceeds labor income from birth through age 27.
Ages 28 through 60 form the surplus stage, as labor income begins to outpace consumption. The surplus peaks at age 45 at 19.32 million won per person, the same age at which per-capita labor income hits a lifetime high of 46.51 million won.
From age 61, the deficit returns. Labor income falls after retirement while consumption continues, driven largely by medical costs. Still, the crossover point keeps moving later. In 2010 the deficit began at age 56; by 2024 it had shifted five years to 61, reflecting a growing number of older people who keep working after retirement.
Transfers between generations are substantial. In 2024, net outflows from the working-age population, those 15 to 64, totaled 344.9 trillion won, with 185.9 trillion won going to children and 148.3 trillion won to older adults. Looking only at public transfers through taxes, 216.3 trillion won flowed out of the working-age group, while 93.3 trillion won flowed to children and 123 trillion won to older adults.
The most notable shift is that the deficit among older adults exceeded that of children for the first time. The total deficit for older adults reached 188.9 trillion won in 2024, up 5.3% from a year earlier, surpassing the deficit for children of 186.2 trillion won for the first time since the statistics began.
Consumption growth among older adults also outpaced other groups, rising 8.1% against 2.7% for the working-age population and 1.0% for children. Older adults accounted for 17.5% of total consumption, the highest share since the data series started in 2010. The increase reflects both a larger elderly population from aging and greater spending capacity as labor and asset income rose.
