Professional Golfers Also Receive 'Retirement Pension'... 420 Million KRW Paid Last Year

KPGA Provides Welfare and Survivor Pensions to Senior Members
Tour Pros Pay 150,000 KRW and Pros 120,000 KRW Semiannual Membership Fees
Receive 1.2 Million KRW Annually from Receipt Time Until Death

The Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) provides an annual pension worth approximately 1.2 million KRW to its senior members. The official name is the ‘Welfare Pension’. It is a type of retirement pension funded by membership fees paid by tour pros and professional members, offering benefits in return.

According to KPGA on the 5th, as of December 31 last year, the association paid a total of 421.1 million KRW in welfare pensions to 341 members who qualified for benefits. This follows the regulation of paying 1.2 million KRW per person annually on the last day of each year.

The pension is funded by membership fees paid twice a year, in the first and second halves of the year, by KPGA members. Tour pros pay 150,000 KRW each time, totaling 300,000 KRW annually, while professionals pay 120,000 KRW each time, totaling 240,000 KRW annually. From the association’s founding in 1968, monthly fees of 5,000 KRW per person were collected for about 20 years, after which the fees were increased, and the current calculation standard has been maintained since 2013.

The age at which members begin receiving the pension varies. For members with over 20 years of membership or those meeting the eligible age, until 2014, 1.2 million KRW was paid annually from age 60 until death. Since then, the eligibility age has been raised: to 61 in 2016, 62 in 2020, 63 starting next year, 64 in 2028, and 65 in 2032. The minimum guaranteed payment period is 20 years, and payments continue if the beneficiary remains alive after that period.

However, if a beneficiary dies before completing the minimum guaranteed 20 years, a ‘Survivor’s Pension’ system pays the remaining pension to the spouse, children, parents, grandchildren, grandparents, siblings, and so forth, in that order. The total limit is 24 million KRW based on 20 years at 1.2 million KRW annually, minus the amount already received by the original member. Members who have failed to pay fees or have been suspended or disciplined since the second half of 2015 will have their pension payment period reduced by one year for each listing on the disciplinary record.

If a member joins as a pro at age 25, the total fees paid until age 60 amount to 8.4 million KRW. Upon reaching eligibility, receiving 1.2 million KRW annually for 20 years results in a total pension of 24 million KRW.

A KPGA official explained, "The pension system is operated with the intention of giving some return to senior members who have contributed to the development of Korean professional golf, providing benefits that exceed the fees paid, even if the amount is small, to support them in their retirement."

Additionally, members who pay fees receive varying levels of condolence money, floral tributes, and goods support depending on their length of membership.