An ageing population in a family and welfare state: the dynamics of family support and public pension systems, and their impact on late-life happiness in contemporary South Korea

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the dynamics of family support and public pension systems, and their impact on late-life happiness in contemporary South Korea. For this, three specific research questions, namely (1) the dynamics of intergenerational solidarity, public pension systems, and happiness; (2) the association between intergenerational solidarity and happiness; and (3) the association between public pension systems and happiness, are analysed by exploiting the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The analyses show that (1) the structural solidarity of older people is relatively stronger than of middle-aged people; (2) contacting is the key player in associational solidarity in later life; (3) middle-aged people supply more financial aid to their adult children than they receive from them, but the reverse applies to older people. Both middle-aged and older people actively exchange food, household items, and health-care supplies; (4) more older men receive the National Pension Scheme benefit than older women but the reverse is true for the Basic Old-Age Pension benefit; (5) the level of happiness in later life is very high but decreases as people age; (6) the number of adult children, frequency of contact, and amount of financial support are positively associated with the happiness of older people; and (7) the National Pension Scheme is positively associated with the happiness of older men while the Basic Old-Age Pension is negatively associated with the happiness of older people. The results suggest some policy implications for late-life happiness in contemporary South Korea. At the individual level, increased frequency of contact, availability of the children, and the amount of financial support can enhance late-life happiness. At the governmental level, the research suggests that the gendered structure of the National Pension Scheme and means-tested structure of the Basic Old-Age Pension should be reformed.