Financial Profiles of South Korean Widows: The Roles of State, Market, and Family

Widowhood is a well-documented risk factor for old-age poverty, yet the roles of state, market, and family in shaping women's economic vulnerability during widowhood remain underexplored. Drawing on a life course perspective on economic disadvantage, this study examined widows' financial profiles and their implications for well-being. Using data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2006-2022), we conducted Latent Class Analysis on 11 indicators of personal finances, property, family transfers, and welfare benefits for 650 middle-aged and older widowed women and examined associations between these profiles and socio-demographic characteristics and subjective well-being. Five profiles emerged. Three groups - "Elite retirees" (3%), "Non-working with diverse support" (30%), and "Working with diverse support" (14%) - were characterized by family wealth and stable resources. In contrast, the largest group, "Financially unstable" (37%), lacked clear sources of support, was often excluded from social assistance and noncontributory pensions, and reported the poorest well-being. Another vulnerable group, "Dependent on child and Basic Pension" (17%) relied mainly on intergenerational support and the noncontributory Basic Pension and consisted of older respondents with the second poorest well-being. These findings point to the need for more generous pensions and less restrictive asset tests in social assistance programs to reduce economic vulnerability among disadvantaged widows.