The Number of National Pension Recipients Surpasses 6 Million... 2.6 Trillion Won Paid Monthly

After Surpassing 5 Million in April 2020, Highest Personal Pension Payment Reaches 2.46 Million Won per Month After 2 Years and 1 Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The number of National Pension recipients has surpassed 6 million for the first time in 35 years since the system was implemented. Compared to previous increases, the number of recipients has been rising rapidly recently.

On the 23rd, the National Pension Service announced that the number of recipients exceeded 6 million just 2 years and 1 month after surpassing 5 million in April 2020.

The number of National Pension recipients has been increasing rapidly due to the retirement of the baby boomer generation. Previously, it took 4 years and 8 months for the number of recipients to grow from 3 million to 4 million, and 3 years and 6 months to surpass 5 million.

As of March, the Service confirmed that it is paying a monthly pension of 2.6 trillion won to 5.92 million recipients. Among them, old-age pension recipients accounted for the largest share at 83.7%, survivor’s pension recipients were 15.1%, and disability pension recipients were 1.2%.

The highest individual old-age pension amount was 2.46 million won per month. The highest disability pension was 1.768 million won per month, followed by the survivor’s pension at 1.254 million won. Approximately 490,000 people receive more than 1 million won per month in pension, and 2,994 recipients receive more than 2 million won.

The number of recipients aged 62 and older was 5.56 million, showing about a 20% increase compared to approximately 4.64 million in April 2020. Among the population aged 62 and older, 48.9% receive pensions.

The number of recipients who have been enrolled for more than 20 years also increased by 370,000 (52%) during the same period. As of March, those enrolled for more than 20 years accounted for 22.2% of all subscribers.

The number of couples both receiving old-age pensions was 543,491 pairs, a 43% increase compared to April 2020. The number of couples receiving a combined pension of more than 3 million won was 330 pairs. The highest monthly pension amount received by a couple was 4.46 million won.

Meanwhile, the Service recently presented a National Pension recipient certificate and commemorative gift to Park Yong-su (62), who was selected as the "6 millionth recipient."

Mr. Park said, "Having worked for over 30 years, I naturally paid into the pension. When paying, I had vague fears about when or if I would really receive it, so it feels very meaningful to now receive the pension after retirement."

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