The biggest concern of retirees in 50s: educational expenses for kids

It was the place where he had worked for 24 years. Icy wind that roared Yeouido in every winter was nothing to be afraid of because he still had an office to go to every morning. For A (alias, 52), Yeouido was an “another family.”

“Our employees are the family of ○○ Securities”

This was the sentence that greeted him when he first stepped inside the building of a securities company, his very first job where he began his career with family celebration after graduating from a private university in Seoul in 1989. It was true. A and his company took care of each other as they are a real family. A fulfilled his “filial duty” toward the company, which, in turn, looked after A. Those were the times when being a diligent member of an organization, cherishing the given responsibility was considered a virtue. The baby boomer A was no exception who led the life of that virtue. The life of the virtue, however, didn`t lead to a “happy ending.”

- `Exit program` prior to retirement extension

On Dec. 23, 2013. A came out onto the Yeouido street after he punched out for the last time. He recalls the day, “I first realized the winter winds in Yeouido were piercing chill.” Even though he had devoted all his life for 24 years but had to quit before reaching his retirement age. Even though he considered the company his parents and worked for it with full of passion, the company couldn’t be harsher when it forced him to quit. In May 2013, seven months prior to his retirement, the "Retirement Age Extension to 60 Act" was revised but it was a “pie in the sky.”

“Did you hear that senior employees in high position must apply for Exit Program?”

On an ordinary morning in July 2013 when A was just preparing for the day at the office, he overheard what other employees whispered and his heart sank. Exit Program was a system under which companies force their employees to quit so that they can save some 100-200 million won (approx. 93,000-186,000 U.S dollars), the amount that the companies have to pay for workers who voluntarily quit the firm. There were 20 people including A who were subject to the Exit Program. On the first day when those 20 workers met for the first time, no one said anything with their heads down as if they were prisoners.

They had to submit a daily report on how to perform their sales duty for the day, which was a kind of a letter of apology. They were given an unreasonable goal of “making monthly profit of 20 million won (approx. 18,600 dollars) by attracting more accounts.” “You have to work overtime if you fail to achieve your goal,” said a manager in charge of the Exit Program, making A stay at the office until 10 p.m.

“I bit the bullet. I didn’t even want a regular retirement. I just wanted to work at least three to four more years to pay for my kids’ college tuition. That was what made me go on even though I almost submitted a letter of resignation every day.”

Those who resisted until the end were given an “ultimatum.” They were forced to move around different branches every other week. Those who were defeated at this stage were placed on the list waiting to be assigned. Their desks were removed and so were their positions. In the end, A handed in a letter of resignation in December 2013 with no early retirement allowances.

At the thought of having been abandoned from the company where he devoted his entire career life, he had to suffer from neck pain and headache. He still takes a digestive medicine almost every day and is haunted by nightmares. He has developed high blood pressure due to cumulative effect of stress.

A father of two sons, however, he has no luxury of taking some time off. He started working as an insurance planner but barely makes 1.5 million won (approx. 1,390 dollars) a month. This is less than a quarter that he used to earn at his previous company but he has no choice in order to support his sons’ education. Today, a chilly winter wind is blowing without mercy and he is out on the street again to sell one more insurance plan.

- CEO`s floor-sweeping is a signal of layoff

An employee surnamed Lee (aged 52), who works at a small and medium sized retailer in Guri City, Gyeonggi Province, goes to work under the fear of getting fired. Lee, who once was a furniture shop "owner," started working at the retailer 10 years ago as his shop went out of business. He couldn’t be picky in choosing where to work as he has two sons to support, middle and high school students. The company where Lee and other 10 employees are working will be subjected to the new act to extend the retirement age up to 60 from 2017. However, Lee, one of the oldest employees at the workplace, says he is always under pressure of layoff. Since the company is small in size, the company easily fire and hire one or two employees depending on the business performance. “I get paid more than other employees since my length of service is longer than others, which puts me on top of the potential layoff candidate list.”

Employees become all alert when the retailer’s president starts sweeping. It is because the president starts sweeping at workplace when he wants to fire someone. At that moment, all employees stop what they were doing and start cleaning together. Everyone knows it is a signal of layoff, and everyone cannot help but being tense. The only way to overcome such fear of layoff is just to work hard and withstand the pressure, just as he has been doing throughout his life. Younger employees easily quit the company. But even a thought of quitting is a luxury for Lee, who has to support his wife and two sons. It is not easy to work feeling like an unwelcomed guest, but Lee said, “I wish I could work at this company for five more years.” Lee hopes to make seed money for his two sons, so that they can get a decent rent house respectively when they get married.

- Good days are gone for school personnel

In the past, employees of private schools were known to have strong job security, which is figuratively called "iron rice bowl." However, things have changed for baby boomers working at private schools. Kim (aged 53), who has been working at a private university for 28 years, said, “University is inducing retirement in various ways as the implementation date to extend retirement age is approaching. Last year, eight employees left the university and they were all baby boomers like Kim. The university’s way to force them to leave was quite subtle. They were given with a job position "Team Leader," but there was no team member for them. “Younger employees sometimes openly talk to senior employees to leave the workplace,” said Kim. Social atmosphere that focuses only on employment for the youth sometimes feels as pressure for retirement to the middle-aged.

Experts call the baby boomers a "sandwiched generation." “Baby boomers are the generation to support parents and feed children. Those in this generation have to work at old ages, financially challenged without accumulated wealth, and are likely to fall into the poor class. Considering all of these, there is high likelihood for the baby boom generation to become a social issue,” said professor Lee Byeong-hoon of sociology at Chung-Ang University.

Baby boomers still have to work today. Not as the main pillar of industrialization, but as breadwinner to support their families.