Gyeongbuk Province, Basic Pension Coverage Rate at 75.6% ... 445,000 Recipients Receive 1.4674 Trillion Won

Significantly Higher Than the National Average of 70%... Payment Criteria Eased Starting This Year

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongbuk Province announced on the 11th that starting this year, it will provide basic pensions totaling 1.4674 trillion KRW to 445,000 elderly residents aged 65 and over with certain income levels or below.

This number represents an increase of 13,000 people compared to 432,000 last year, and the payment amount has also increased by 320.3 billion KRW accordingly.

The eligibility criteria for basic pension payments have been relaxed nationwide starting this year. Until last year, recipients were divided into low-income groups below the bottom 40% income bracket and general recipients below the bottom 70% income bracket, with different standard pension amounts applied. However, going forward, there will be no distinction between general recipients and low-income groups.

For single-person households, if the monthly recognized income (sum of assessed income and converted property income) is 1.69 million KRW or less, they will receive up to 300,000 KRW per month. For couple households, if the monthly recognized income is 2.704 million KRW or less, they will receive up to 480,000 KRW per month.

The basic pension eligibility thresholds were also increased by 14.2%, from 1.48 million KRW to 1.69 million KRW for single-person households, and from 2.368 million KRW to 2.704 million KRW for couple households.

As of the end of November last year, Gyeongbuk Province paid an average of 249,000 KRW to about 432,000 elderly people out of approximately 570,000 elderly residents in the province, resulting in a pension coverage rate of 75.6%, which is significantly higher than the national average of 70%.

Park Se-eun, Director of the Elderly Welfare Division of Gyeongbuk Province, stated, "The increase in basic pension amounts and expansion of eligible recipients this year will greatly contribute to stabilizing the lives of elderly people who are struggling due to COVID-19 and income disruption. We will do our best to ensure that even one more person can receive benefits and actively support elderly people to enjoy a happy retirement."

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