Santiago de Chile, July 15 (teleSUR-RHC)-- At least 52,000 retired people in Chile were forced to re-enter the labor market last year because their pensions were too low to cover the cost of living, according to new government statistics released on Tuesday.

Data from Chile's National Statistics Institute (INE) revealed that 47.5 percent of all new job positions that were created in the country in 2014 were filled by people over the age of 60. This means that of the 109,000 new positions, an estimated 52,000 were occupied by pensioners.

The main reason why people re-entered the job market is because of receiving low compensation from their pensions – which ends up being some $300 per month.

However, according to the National Service for Elderly People (Senama), elderly people also often chose to go back to work for their own self-realization, but often hold themselves back from working because of cultural misconceptions of aging.

According to Senama, there are some 2,885,157 people over the age of 60 currently living in Chile, 24.5 percent of which are in the labor force. They mainly work in agriculture, the manufacturing industry or trade.