공공부조 수급에서 제외된 빈곤노인의 현황과 특성

A Study on the Size, Composition, and Characteristics of Poor Elders Excluded from the Public Assistance

공적 연금이 미성숙한 우리나라에서는 실질적으로 공공부조가 빈곤노인을 위한 소득보장제도로 기능하고 있다. 그러나 제도상의 문제로 인하여 많은 수의 빈곤노인들이 국민기초생활보장 제도와 경로연금 제도에서 제외됨으로써 소득보장의 사각지대에 방치되어 있다. 이 연구에서는 공공부조에서 제외된 빈곤노인의 규모와 현황을 파악하고 공공부조 수급의 결정요인을 분석하였다. 분석 결과 차상위계층과 절대빈곤층이 모두 포함된 빈곤노인가구 중 절반 이상이 공공부조 수급을 받지 못하고 있으며, 공공부조에서 제외된 빈곤노인가구는 인구학적 특성과 소득특성이 열악하여 공공부조 수급의 욕구가 큰 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 노인의 공공부조 수급은 주로 인구학적 특성과, 가족부양상황을 반영하는 가족이전소득에 의해 결정되는 것으로 밝혀져, 빈곤노인들의 소득상의 욕구를 고려한 소득보장이 시급한 것으로 분석되었다.

The public assistance scheme plays more important role in income maintenance for poor elders than the public pension does due to insufficient coverage of the public pension resulted from late introduction of it in Korea. However, only limited numbers of poor elders are financially protected by the public assistance contrary to the general perception that the elderly population most benefits from public aids. Based on data set of 2000 from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study, this study analysed the size, composition and characteristics of poor elders excluded from the public assistance, and determinants of the elderly's participation in it. Findings of the study can be summarized as follows: (1) More than half of poor elders are excluded from the public assistance although their economic status is similar with that of recipients, which may cause income reversal between recipients and non-recipients. (2) It was identified that non-recipient poor elders especially those with same income level of recipients of the National Livelihood Guarantees(NLG) are actually in desperate need of public aids considering their serious financial conditions. (3) Participation in public assistance among the elderly is more affected by socio-demographic factors that reflect family conditions than by economic factors, which is mostly caused by the strict eligibility criteria of the public assistance that reinforces family duty of financial support for elderly relatives in Korea. Policy implications for more effective income security for poor elders include revising inappropriate eligibility criteria of the NLG concerning family obligations, expanding the coverage of the old age allowance for poor elders to near-poor elders, and providing work opportunities to non-recipient poor elders to supplement their income deficit.