Husband Receives 2.54 Million Won, Wife Receives 2.77 Million Won
Couple's Pension Exceeds 'Appropriate Retirement Living Expenses' of 2.97 Million Won per Month
For the first time, a couple receiving a combined monthly National Pension amount of over 5 million won has emerged.
According to the National Pension Service on the 3rd, as of the end of November last year, the highest combined monthly National Pension amount for a couple was recorded at 5,305,600 won. The individual monthly National Pension amounts for this couple were 2,539,260 won for the husband and 2,766,340 won for the wife.
The couple's monthly pension of 5 million won slightly exceeds 60% of the combined monthly salary of 8 million won for a working couple. This is also the level recommended by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Furthermore, it far surpasses the subjective appropriate retirement living expenses perceived by middle-aged individuals aged 50 and above. According to the 10th National Retirement Security Panel Survey conducted by the National Pension Research Institute under the National Pension Service in December last year, assuming good health, the 'appropriate retirement living expenses' perceived by middle-aged and older adults aged 50 and above was 2.97 million won per month for a couple.
However, the average combined monthly pension amount for couples is lower than the appropriate retirement living expenses. As of the end of November last year, the average combined monthly pension amount for couples was 1,081,668 won.
Since the introduction of the National Pension system in 1988, the number of couples receiving pensions has continuously increased. As of the end of November last year, the total number of couples where both husband and wife receive monthly National Pension payments was 774,964 pairs. The number of couples receiving pensions increased from 355,000 pairs in 2019, 427,000 pairs in 2020, 516,000 pairs in 2021, 625,000 pairs in 2022, to 669,000 pairs in 2023.
The National Pension is an income security system that helps maintain basic living by providing monthly pensions when one is unable to work due to old age, or suffers disability or death from unexpected accidents or illnesses, after consistently paying insurance premiums monthly while earning income. The National Pension is available to all citizens residing in Korea aged 18 to under 60, with a minimum subscription period of 10 years, and allows receipt of old-age pensions upon reaching the eligible age.
If both husband and wife are enrolled in the National Pension and acquire pension rights, they both receive old-age pensions to compensate for the loss of earned income due to old age until death. However, if one spouse dies while both are receiving old-age pensions, each must choose between their own old-age pension and the survivor’s pension left by the deceased spouse, selecting the one most beneficial to them, as both pensions are not paid simultaneously.
To prevent pension benefits from being concentrated on one individual, when a person is entitled to two or more benefits, the National Pension limits or adjusts overlapping payments according to the 'overlapping benefit adjustment' regulation. For example, if the survivor’s pension is significantly higher than the old-age pension, the individual may choose the survivor’s pension and forgo their old-age pension. However, if they choose their old-age pension, they can receive an additional 30% of the survivor’s pension.
The survivor’s pension refers to pension benefits paid to survivors who were dependent on the deceased subscriber, in cases where the deceased was an old-age or disability pension (grade 2 or higher) recipient, or a subscriber with at least 10 years of subscription period.
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