"No Worries About Retirement" National Pension Couple's Maximum Monthly Benefit of 4.69 Million Won

Over 1,000 Couples with Combined Monthly Income Exceeding 3 Million Won

The number of couples receiving a combined monthly National Pension of over 3 million KRW surpassed 1,000 pairs as of June.

According to the National Pension Service on the 8th, the number of couples receiving National Pension benefits stood at 653,805 pairs (1,307,610 individuals) as of the end of June. Among them, 1,035 couples receive a combined monthly National Pension of 3 million KRW or more. The first occurrence of couples receiving a combined National Pension exceeding 3 million KRW per month was in 2017, with 3 pairs.

Since the National Pension system was implemented in 1988, the number of couples receiving benefits has steadily increased. It was 298,733 pairs in 2018, 355,382 pairs in 2019, 427,467 pairs in 2020, 515,756 pairs in 2021, and surpassed 600,000 pairs last year with 624,695 pairs.

The couple receiving the highest combined pension recorded a monthly amount of 4.69 million KRW. The highest individual recipient receives 2.66 million KRW per month.

The total number of couples receiving National Pension benefits reached 600,000, and the number of couples receiving monthly pensions of 3 million won or more surpassed 1,000.

There is a widespread claim that "even if both spouses are enrolled in the National Pension, only one will receive benefits later," but this is not true.

The National Pension is a social insurance system subscribed to on an individual basis to prepare for old-age risks (disability, old age, death), not on a family basis. If both spouses are enrolled, both husband and wife receive pensions individually during their lifetime according to their contribution periods.

However, if both spouses receive old-age pensions (the general form of National Pension received upon reaching the eligible age) and one spouse passes away first, the surviving spouse must choose between their own old-age pension and the survivor’s pension left by the deceased spouse under the "overlapping benefit adjustment" rule, selecting the one more advantageous to them.

The overlapping benefit adjustment is intended to ensure fairness across society by allowing only one pension benefit when a person becomes entitled to two or more pension benefits, thereby enabling more beneficiaries to receive pension benefits.

Meanwhile, the highest disability pension amount is 2.07 million KRW per month, and the highest survivor’s pension amount is 1.43 million KRW per month.

The person who received the highest total amount of old-age National Pension benefits has received a total of 241.25 million KRW from the first payment date until last October.

Among National Pension recipients, the oldest beneficiaries are 95 years old for old-age pension recipients, 92 years old for disability pension recipients, and 110 years old for survivor’s pension recipients.

There are also National Pension recipients over 100 years old: 39 men and 135 women.