First national pension recipient to receive 3 million won per month

First national pension recipient to receive 3 million won per month. January. 25, 2025 07:33. by ????? mean@donga.com.
For the first time in 37 years since the introduction of the National Pension System in 1988, a subscriber is receiving more than three million won per month. This recipient increased their payout by five years by postponing the pension receipt date compared to other recipients under similar conditions.

According to the National Pension Service (NPS) on Friday, January this year saw the first subscriber whose monthly National Pension (Old-Age Pension) payment exceeded three million won. This individual had contributed to the National Pension for over 30 years since the early stages of the system when the income replacement rate for 40 years of contributions was as high as 70%. They also utilized the pension deferral system, postponing the start of their payments by five years. The pension deferral system allows individuals to delay receiving payments for up to five years without continuing to pay contributions for reasons such as employment. Delaying the pension start date increases the monthly payout by 7.2% per year (0.6% per month), resulting in a total increase of 36% if deferred for the full five years.

The number of subscribers deferring their pension payments has been steadily increasing. According to data submitted by Choi Bo-yoon, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the People Power Party, the number of deferred old-age pension recipients rose from 41,521 in 2019 to 128,809 as of June last year—a more than threefold increase. This trend is attributed to a growing number of people remaining in the workforce even after the pension eligibility age of 63. Since recipients engaged in "income-generating work" face reduced payouts, many opt to delay their pension payments.