The disposable income of households headed by those in their 50s fell at the steepest pace since 2009.

According to Statistics Korea on Sunday, the monthly average disposable income of households came to four-point-12 million won as of the fourth quarter last year, down two-point-four percent from a year earlier.

This newest figure shows the sharpest drop since the second quarter of 2009 during the global financial crisis, when it shrank two-point-nine percent.

People in their 50s account for the largest portion of the total population.

In contrast, the comparable figure for the total households grew by two-point-one percent during the cited period to post the largest gain since the second quarter of 2015.

Disposable income is the total earnings an individual or a household makes that are available to save or spend after taxes have been paid.