This study aims to empirically analyze the factors influencing retirement choices and job search difficulties among the increasing number of partial retirees, who are entering the workforce at a rapid rate due to an aging society, and to propose improvement measures for employment policies targeting middle-aged and older workers based on these findings. In particular, this research seeks to fill the gap in existing elderly employment research by separately examining partial retirees to identify their unique characteristics. Using the 9th wave data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) in 2022, a two-stage analysis was conducted on 2,115 complete retirees and 156 partial retirees. In the first stage, a binary logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors influencing the choice of partial retirement. In the second stage, multiple regression analysis was conducted, targeting only partial retirees, to analyze the structural factors of job search difficulties. Independent variables were categorized into demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, education level, residential area, household size, health status, subjective class consciousness, last job type) and institutional characteristics (awareness of wage peak system, receipt of social-security income benefits, preferred job type), which were entered stepwise. The dependent variable, job search difficulties, was measured through factor analysis consisting of five structural factors: job shortage, low income, employment restrictions due to age, inadequate working conditions, and lack of employment information. This study confirmed that age, health status, subjective class consciousness, and institutional awareness are consistently essential factors in the partial retirement process, as revealed through a two-stage analysis that links partial retirement choice and job search difficulties. In particular, it empirically demonstrated that age discrimination serves as a significant barrier to job search for partial retirees, and prior awareness of institutional systems is a crucial factor in alleviating job search difficulties. Based on these findings, the study presents policy implications, including specific measures to mitigate age discrimination, the expansion of age-specific, customized job-matching services, strengthening institutional education for prospective retirees, establishing psychological support systems for middle-aged and older workers, and expanding startup support policies for older adults. This research emphasizes that partial retirement is not an inevitable personal choice but a new form of employment that society should actively support, presenting the necessity for establishing policy foundations that can transform the challenges of an aging society into opportunities.
Ko et al. (Thu,) studied this question.