"Steady 1 Million Won a Month"...National Pension Recipients Surpass 1.1 Million

1,104,231 People Receive Over 1 Million Won Per Month
Maximum Old-Age Pension Payment Reaches 3.17 Million Won

The number of people receiving more than 1 million won per month from the National Pension has surpassed 1.1 million.

According to the National Pension Service's official statistics released as of January this year, the total number of people receiving monthly pensions of 1 million won or more reached 1,104,231.

The Asia Business Daily Database

Compared to previous years, as the period of National Pension participation has increased, the number of recipients receiving more than 1 million won has also grown. As of January last year, there were 924,278 recipients in this bracket.

Specifically, the largest group was those receiving between 1 million and less than 1.3 million won per month, totaling 466,406 people. The group receiving between 1.3 million and less than 1.6 million won numbered 281,051, while those getting between 1.6 million and less than 2 million won accounted for 240,608. There were 116,166 people receiving more than 2 million won monthly.

By gender, among all recipients receiving more than 1 million won per month, 1,030,259 were men, while only 73,972 were women. The higher proportion of male recipients is attributed to the fact that more men participated in economic activities in the past and generally had longer National Pension subscription periods.

By pension type, the overwhelming majority—1,085,769 people—were recipients of the old-age pension, which is the standard form paid when a person retires from work due to age. The old-age pension is the most representative form of the National Pension, providing retirement income once a subscriber reaches a certain eligible age.

In addition, there were 3,073 recipients of disability pensions, which are provided when a person becomes disabled due to injury or illness. There were 15,389 recipients of survivor pensions, which are paid to the family members left behind after a subscriber passes away.

The highest amount received by an old-age pension recipient was 3,175,300 won per month. Excluding divided pensions (shared by divorced spouses) and special pensions that were temporarily available in the past, the overall average monthly payout for standard old-age pension recipients was 700,427 won.

For disability pensions, the maximum monthly payout was 2,274,790 won, with an average of 552,291 won. For survivor pensions, the highest monthly payout was 1,564,590 won, while the average was 389,134 won.

As of the end of January this year, the total number of National Pension subscribers stood at 21,641,066. By type, the largest group was the workplace subscribers—those enrolled as employees or employers at companies—totaling 14,598,051. Regional subscribers, who are not workplace subscribers, numbered 6,238,350. Voluntary subscribers, who are not required to join but do so by choice, totaled 342,530, and voluntary continued subscribers, who apply to extend their subscription period after age 60, numbered 462,135.

By age group, the largest number of subscribers was those aged 50 or older but under 60, at 6,707,446. This was followed by those aged 40 or older but under 50, at 5,764,017, and those aged 30 or older but under 40, at 5,301,809. Subscribers under 30 numbered 3,405,659, and those aged 60 or older totaled 462,135.

The National Pension is an income security system designed to help individuals maintain a basic standard of living by providing monthly pension payments when they can no longer work due to age or when they suffer disability or die from unexpected accidents or illnesses. All Korean residents aged 18 or older but under 60 are eligible to join. The minimum subscription period is 10 years, and upon reaching the eligible age, subscribers can receive the old-age pension.

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