본 연구는 50세 이상 중고령자 자영창업의 생존을 향상시키기 위한 지원 전략을 탐색하고자 국민노후보장패널 1～3차 자료를 이용하여 중고령자 자영업의 특성과 생존율을 파악하였으며, 특히 중고령 창업자의 창업전 취업형태가 자영업 생존율에 어떻게 영향을 미치는지를 탐색하였다. 연구결과, 중고령 자영업자는 창업전 취업형태에 따라 개인적 특성, 경제적 특성과 사업체 특성 면에서 이질적인 것으로 나타났다. 또한 창업전 취업형태별 자영업 생존율은 창업전 임금근로집단이 가장 높은 반면, 창업전 자영업집단의 생존율은 가장 낮게 나타났다. 이러한 결과는 창업전 취업형태가 자영업의 생존율에 차이를 가져오는 중요한 역할을 한다는 것을 보여준다. 따라서 중고령자 자영창업의 생존율을 높이기 위한 자영업 지원 전략을 개발할 때는 이러한 창업전 취업형태의 이질성이 고려되어야 할 것이다.

Purpose This study investigated – the demographic characteristics of retirees who sought not to be reemployed or join an organization but, instead, to be self-employed. This study verified self-employment by regional and/or educational features to determine the self-employment factors and the policies required. Research design, data, and methodology – Models and hypotheses were used to verify the conversion into self-employment depending on retirees’ demographic characteristics. This study investigated regions according to precedent studies and used SPSS 18.0 as follows. First, frequency was used to investigate the general characteristics. Second, a factor correlation analysis was done. Results – Hypothesis 1, which stated that, "retirees with low educational background often start a self-employed business," was significant. Hypothesis 2, which stated that, "retirees in metropolitan areas frequently start a self-employed business," was significant. Hypothesis 3, which stated that, "retirees in a megalopolis frequently start a self-employed business," was significant. Conclusions – A preliminary startup education was needed to lessen the losses. Retirees should have preliminary knowledge of actual self-employment conditions to be given a startup education.