Surpassed 100 Recipients in 2020... Nearly Doubled in Five Years
All Recipients Aged 100 or Older Receive Survivors' Pensions
The number of National Pension recipients aged 100 or older has surpassed 200.
The National Pension Service announced on May 11 that, as of January this year, there were a total of 201 recipients aged 100 or older among the 7.07 million total National Pension recipients.
The oldest recipient is 111 years old. By gender, there are 63 men and 138 women, meaning female recipients outnumber males by more than two to one.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s resident registration statistics, as of April, there are 8,806 people in South Korea aged 100 or older. With the rapid aging of the population, the number of National Pension recipients aged 100 or older has also been steadily increasing each year.
In 2010, when the National Pension Service held a longevity celebration for recipients aged 100 or older, there were only 13 eligible recipients. The number continued to rise, reaching 18 in 2011, 20 in 2012, and 31 in 2013. In 2020, the number surpassed 100 for the first time, with 101 recipients. In just five years since then, the number has nearly doubled, exceeding 200.
Currently, all 201 National Pension recipients aged 100 or older are survivors’ pension recipients. The survivors’ pension is paid to the spouse or children under 25 when the recipient of the old-age or disability pension (with a disability rating of grade 2 or higher) passes away.
For old-age and disability pensions, the oldest recipients are 96 and 94 years old, respectively. There are currently no recipients aged 100 or older among those receiving the old-age pension.
Among all 7.07 million recipients of old-age, disability, and survivors’ pensions, the largest proportion by age group is those aged 65 to under 70, accounting for 31.8%. This is followed by 19.0% aged 60 to under 65, 18.9% aged 70 to under 75, 14.3% aged 75 to under 80, and 12.9% aged 80 or older.
By pension amount, the largest group is those receiving between 200,000 and 400,000 won per month, making up 40% of all recipients.
The number of people receiving more than 1 million won per month is 924,278. Among them, 68,701 people receive more than 2 million won.
Starting in January this year, for the first time, there was a recipient of the maximum old-age pension amount of 3,054,000 won, meaning there is now a recipient receiving more than 3 million won per month. This recipient joined the National Pension system in its inaugural year, 1988, paid contributions for 30 years, and delayed the start of their pension by five years, which allowed them to receive a larger pension than their peers.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
