6.37 Million Workers Enrolled in Retirement Pension Plans Last Year... 270,000 Increase in One Year

2019 Retirement Pension Statistics Results

Accumulated Amount, 188.8 Trillion KRW → 219.7 Trillion KRW… 62.6% are 'Defined Benefit Type'

Total Implemented Workplaces 378,000 → 397,000
Implementation Rate for Eligible Workplaces 27.5%

Individual Retirement Pension Subscribers Surge by 367,000… Accumulated Amount Increases by 6.2 Trillion KRW

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Last year, 6.371 million workers were enrolled in the retirement pension system. This is an increase of about 270,000 compared to the previous year. More than 6 out of 10 of these workers were enrolled in the 'Defined Benefit (DB)' plan, where retirement benefits are predetermined by multiplying the average wage at retirement by years of service. However, the Individual Retirement Pension (IRP), which allows workers to accumulate and manage lump-sum retirement payments until retirement, still has the lowest enrollment rate at 11.6%, although its share is increasing.

On the 24th, Statistics Korea announced the results of the 2019 Retirement Pension Statistics containing this information.

The Retirement Pension Statistics utilize administrative data such as employee income payment statements, business registration data, social insurance data, and retirement pension data held by government ministries and public institutions to understand the operation status of the retirement pension system and support policy formulation, evaluation, and research activities.

According to the data, the accumulated amount in 2019 increased by 16.3% compared to the previous year (188.8 trillion KRW → 219.7 trillion KRW). The composition ratio was 62.6% for Defined Benefit, 25.4% for Defined Contribution, 11.6% for Individual Retirement Pension, and 0.4% for IRP special cases.

The total number of workplaces implementing the system increased by 4.8% from the previous year (378,000 → 397,000). Among 1.403 million eligible workplaces, 385,000 had implemented the system, resulting in an implementation rate of 27.5%, up 0.2 percentage points from 27.3% in 2018.

The total number of enrolled workers increased by 4.4% from the previous year (6.105 million → 6.371 million). Among 11.509 million eligible workers, 5.929 million were enrolled, showing an enrollment rate of 51.5%.

The number of Individual Retirement Pension subscribers increased by 21.4% from the previous year (1.712 million → 2.079 million), and the accumulated amount increased by 32.4% (19.2 trillion KRW → 25.4 trillion KRW). The number of additional subscribers due to system changes increased by 33.9% to 918,000 compared to the previous year.

The number of early withdrawals increased by 1.8% from the previous year (72,000 → 73,000), and the withdrawal amount increased by 7.6% (2.6 trillion KRW → 2.8 trillion KRW). The main purposes of early withdrawal by age group were housing rent for those in their 20s, home purchase for those in their 30s, and long-term care for those aged 40 and above.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.