Senior financial consultations nearly triple in a year as inheritance, care concerns mount

Demand for senior financial services is rapidly expanding beyond pensions and tax savings to cover inheritance, asset succession, long-term care and retirement living more broadly. As South Korea's population ages, a growing number of older adults are grappling with retirement expenses and asset transfers at the same time, driving a sharp rise in senior financial consultations across the banking sector.

KB Kookmin Bank's senior-focused advisory channel, the KB Golden Life Center, handled 7,619 consultations in the first eight months of this year — roughly 2.7 times the 2,874 recorded in the same period last year. Since the center opened, cumulative consultations have reached 46,884, with 11,146 of those taking place between the center's expansion last July and the end of August this year.

The nature of those consultations is also shifting. "In the past, inquiries centered on pensions and tax savings, but recently the scope has widened to include inheritance and gifting, asset withdrawal strategies, and long-term care," a KB Kookmin Bank official said. "Since the center's expansion, consultations outside the pension and tax-savings categories have accounted for more than 40 percent of the total."

Interest in asset succession is also growing. Cumulative new assets placed in KB Kookmin Bank's testament trust product have reached 1.8 trillion won ($1.32 billion) since the bank established its Golden Life division. The product lets customers arrange asset management and post-death succession plans while still alive, and the market for such services is expanding in step with rising demand for inheritance and gifting solutions.

Banks are broadening their senior business offerings in response to this shift in demand, moving beyond basic pension and asset management to compete across a wider range of services covering inheritance, health, care and residential needs in retirement.

Hana Bank offers services through its senior-focused brand "Hana The Next" that extend beyond asset management to include health, family support and re-employment assistance.

Shinhan Financial Group is expanding its senior business through "Shinhan SOL Mate" to cover not only financial services but also healthcare and lifestyle offerings. Shinhan Life Care opened its first premium care facility, Sollache Home Misa, in Hanam's Misa district in January, and Shinhan Securities held a senior seminar last month combining health management with retirement asset planning.

Woori Bank is also broadening its senior customer base through its "Woori Wonder Life" platform and asset succession services including testament trust and gift trust products.

"The customer base aged 50 and older is growing as the population ages, and this group tends to hold relatively more accumulated financial assets over their life cycle," an official at a major commercial bank said. "As retirement funds such as severance pay and pensions flow in around the time of retirement and demand grows to manage them stably, banks are expanding their senior services beyond asset management to include inheritance, gifting, health and care."

Meanwhile, customers aged 50 and older accounted for an average of 47.2 percent of the customer base at the five major commercial banks as of the end of July this year, up 2.2 percentage points from 45.0 percent in 2024. Their share is even larger in deposit assets — averaging 69.7 percent at the four largest banks and 65.9 percent across the five largest banks as of July, meaning this group holds roughly two-thirds of total deposit assets.