Last Year, Over 10,000 Home Pension Subscribers... 37.5% Surge in Enrollment After Construction Act Amendment

Cumulative Number of Housing Pension Subscribers Reaches 81,206

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Last year, the number of Housing Pension subscribers exceeded 10,000, reaching a cumulative total of 81,206 subscribers. Since the revision of the Korea Housing Finance Corporation Act, which allowed owners of houses with a publicly announced price of 900 million KRW or less and owners of officetels for residential purposes to subscribe to the Housing Pension, subscriptions to the Housing Pension surged by 37.5% last month compared to the previous month.

On the 19th, the Korea Housing Finance Corporation announced that the number of Housing Pension subscribers over the past year was 10,172, a 14.3% increase compared to 71,034 at the end of 2019. Accordingly, the cumulative number of subscribers as of the end of 2020 reached 81,206.

The Korea Housing Finance Corporation revised the Corporation Act on December 8 last year to expand the eligibility criteria for Housing Pension subscription to include houses based on the publicly announced price, and allowed residents of officetels for residential purposes to subscribe to the Housing Pension.

As a result, in December last year, 257 new subscribers living in houses with a publicly announced price up to 900 million KRW (market price around 1.2 to 1.3 billion KRW) and residential officetels joined the Housing Pension, increasing the number of subscribers by 37.5% compared to the previous month. The number of subscribers over the past three months clearly increased: 808 in October, 850 in November, and 1,169 in December.

As of the end of last year, the characteristics of Housing Pension subscribers showed an average age of 72.2 years, an average house price of 307 million KRW, and an average monthly payment of 1,035,000 KRW. These figures represent increases of 3.4% and 2.3% in average house price and monthly payment, respectively, compared to the end of 2019.

The Korea Housing Finance Corporation plans to strengthen Housing Pension benefits by introducing a ‘seizure-protection account’ in June, where payments up to the amount necessary for livelihood under the Civil Execution Act will be deposited and protected from seizure, and by launching a ‘trust-type Housing Pension’ that automatically transfers pension rights to the spouse, supporting the spouse’s stable retirement.

A representative from the Korea Housing Finance Corporation said, “Despite difficulties in Housing Pension consultations due to social distancing last year, the fact that new subscribers exceeded 10,000 shows growing interest in the Housing Pension. For those who wish to consult or subscribe to the Housing Pension, visiting a nearby branch or contacting the corporation’s website or call center will provide more convenient access.”

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