National Pension and Basic Pension to Increase by 2.3% This Year

From this year, the National Pension and Basic Pension benefits will increase by 2.3%, reflecting last year's inflation rate.

On the 9th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held the first National Pension Deliberation Committee meeting of 2025 and decided to raise the National Pension amount and adjust the upper and lower limits of the standard monthly income applicable in 2025.

First, the basic pension amount and dependent family pension amount for the National Pension in 2025 will be increased by 2.3%, reflecting the previous year's inflation rate. Accordingly, about 6.92 million current National Pension recipients will receive a 2.3% increased pension amount starting in January.

Along with this, the ‘revaluation rate’ necessary for calculating the benefit amount for new National Pension recipients in 2025 was determined. The ‘revaluation rate’ is an index that converts the income during the recipient’s past contribution period into the present value at the time of pension commencement. It is readjusted and announced annually by the Minister of Health and Welfare after deliberation by the committee according to relevant laws.

The adjustment of the upper and lower limits of the standard monthly income for 2025 was also approved. The standard monthly income is the income used to calculate pension insurance premiums and pension amounts, and it is adjusted annually according to the income level of subscribers. The upper and lower limits of the standard monthly income are automatically adjusted every year reflecting the change rate of the average income (A value) of all National Pension subscribers over the past three years.

As the A value of all subscribers over the past three years increased by 3.3% compared to 2024, the upper limit of the standard monthly income for 2025 will change from 6.17 million KRW to 6.37 million KRW, and the lower limit will change from 390,000 KRW to 400,000 KRW.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to revise the ‘National Pension Revaluation Rate and Pension Amount Adjustment’ notice and the ‘National Pension Standard Monthly Income Lower and Upper Limits’ notice reflecting the committee’s decisions. The revaluation rate and pension amount increase will be applied starting from the pensions paid in January, and the adjustment of the standard monthly income limits will be applied from July.

The Basic Pension standard pension amount will also increase from 334,810 KRW in 2024 to 342,510 KRW in 2025, reflecting the previous year’s consumer price inflation rate of 2.3% according to the Basic Pension Act. Approximately 7.36 million recipients receiving the Basic Pension this year will receive the increased amount starting in January. The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to revise the related notice within January to implement the increase in the Basic Pension standard pension amount.