The decline in National Pension subscribers due to low birth rates has continued, with the number of subscribers decreasing to the 21 million range for the first time in six years from the previous 22 million range.
According to the latest National Pension statistics released by the National Pension Service based on the data from December 2024, the total number of National Pension subscribers at the end of last December was 21,984,003. Compared to the previous year, December 2023, when there were 22,384,787 subscribers, this marks a decline of over 400,000, marking a second consecutive year of decrease.
The number of National Pension subscribers began at 4.43 million in its first year of implementation in 1998 and continued to grow. By the end of 2018, the number of subscribers had first surpassed 22 million, and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 and 2020, the subscriber count decreased by around 100,000 and 110,000, respectively, for two consecutive years but maintained over the 22 million mark.
However, as the decline in subscribers due to low birth rates began to intensify, by the end of 2023, the subscriber count decreased by around 113,000 compared to the previous year, and by the end of 2024, it is projected to decrease by an additional 400,000, breaking the 22 million mark for the first time in six years.
The number of subscribers from business sites that had been steadily increasing saw its first decline last year. As of December 2024, workplace subscribers numbered 14,675,745, which is a decrease of over 136,000 compared to December 2023, which had 14,812,062 subscribers.
Individual subscribers, known as local subscribers, also decreased to 6,513,108 by December 2024, a decline of over 200,000 compared to December 2023, which had 6,714,114 subscribers, marking a second consecutive year of decrease.
While the number of people paying pension premiums is decreasing, the number of recipients is rapidly increasing. As of last December, the number of National Pension recipients was 7,372,039 (including lump-sum recipients), which is an increase of around 550,000 compared to the previous year, which had 6,822,178 recipients.