The government is considering abolishing the mandatory retirement system in the future to combat a decline in the working age population.

A senior government official said on Sunday that expanding employment for retirees, extending the retirement age and eliminating mandatory retirement together make up a three-step strategy being considered to cope with changes in the demographic landscape.

The statement comes ahead of the introduction of incentives for companies that rehire senior employees beginning next month. 

As for measures to deal with the rapidly ageing society, the official said that the government is putting the ideas on the table for extensive discussions at all levels of society.

According to Statistics Korea, the country's working age population, or people aged 15 to 64, is expected to decline 330-thousand per year on average over the next decade and 520-thousand per year on average between 2030 and 2039.