Nine out of 10 people aged 65 or older in our country receive pensions. However, it was found that half of them receive a pension of less than 420,000 won. As the age group increases, the amount of benefits decreases further.
The Korea Statistics Development Institute (KOSTAT) released a statistical analysis issue titled "How much pension do people aged 65 or older in our country receive?" authored by Deputy Director Jun Yong-su and Assistant Deputy Director Kang Chang-won. This was published in the "KOSTAT Statistical Plus - Winter 2024" on the 26th.
As of 2022, about 8.18 million people aged 65 or older received one or more pensions, which is about 90%. Their average monthly benefit amount was around 650,000 won.
However, it was tallied that half receive less than 420,000 won per month. This is because the median of the benefit amount distribution was approximately 420,000 won. The median of the benefit amount means the amount at the middle when arranging all pension benefit amounts from smallest to largest.
Among the elderly, 68.2% receive the basic pension, while 48.1% receive the national pension. Among the elderly population, 35.6% receive only the basic pension without overlapping with the national pension or personal pensions. Their average monthly benefit was about 290,000 won.
As the age group increases, the pension receipt rate increases, but the benefit amount decreases. Among the elderly, those aged 65-69 have the lowest pension receipt rate at 88.9%, but the highest average monthly benefit amount at around 760,000 won. In contrast, those aged 80 or older have the highest receipt rate at 92%, but the lowest benefit amount at 515,000 won.
The pension receipt rate for single-person elderly households was 94.1%, and the average monthly pension benefit was 580,000 won. This is about half of the 1.16 million won received by elderly couple households.
By region, the pension receipt rate for the elderly population in Jeonnam was the highest, but the benefit amount was the lowest at 550,000 won. Compared to Seoul's 760,000 won, it was about 200,000 won less. This disparity in benefits by region is explained by differences in pension types and the age group of beneficiaries in different regions. In Jeonnam, the basic pension receipt rate was 80.8%, higher than Seoul's 56.1%, and the proportion of those aged 80 or older was 31.5%, also higher than Seoul's 21.1%.