Poverty Among the Elderly

We will explain the poverty situation among the elderly in Japan based on statistics from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2022 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions) and the latest data. To start with the conclusion, approximately 1 in 5 elderly people aged 65 or older in Japan (20.0%) are in a state of "relative poverty." Detailed figures and breakdowns are as follows. ### 1. Elderly Poverty Rate (Relative Poverty Rate) "Relative poverty" refers to a state of living on a disposable income that is less than half of the median income of the country (based on 2021 standards, this is an annual disposable income of approximately 1.27 million yen or less for a single person). * Elderly overall (65 and older): 20.0% * (Reference: The average for all generations is 15.4%) The poverty rate for the elderly tends to be higher than that of the working-age population. ### 2. Converted into numbers Since the population of people aged 65 and older in Japan is approximately 36.2 million (as of 2023), 20% of that means it is estimated that more than approximately 7.2 million elderly people are in a state of relative poverty. ### 3. Particularly serious is the "single-person household" situation Among the elderly, the situation differs significantly depending on whether they live with family or live alone. The poverty rate for elderly people living alone is particularly high. * Elderly men living alone: approximately 30% (1 in 3) * Elderly women living alone: approximately 44% (1 in 2.3) Especially in the case of women, they tend to be more prone to poverty than men due to wage gaps during their working years and cases where they only receive the national pension. ### 4. Why does poverty among the elderly occur? The main reasons are as follows: * Low pension amounts: Especially in cases such as self-employment where one only receives the "National Pension (Old-Age Basic Pension)," the full amount is only about 68,000 yen per month, making it difficult to live on this alone. * Depletion of savings: Cases of "old-age bankruptcy" where savings run out due to increasing medical and nursing care expenses. * Increase in non-regular employment: People who were in non-regular employment during their working years have shorter or no enrollment periods in the Employees' Pension Insurance, resulting in lower benefit amounts. ### 5. Status of public assistance Currently, among households receiving public assistance in Japan, approximately 55% are "elderly households." The majority of these (about 90%) are elderly people living alone. ### Summary Poverty among the elderly in Japan occurs at a very high rate of "1 in 5," and if limited to women living alone, it is "nearly 1 in 2." This is the background behind why terms like "old-age bankruptcy" and "lower-class elderly" have become social issues.

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