SEOUL, May 3 (Yonhap) — Almost 120,000 people in South Korea currently receive a monthly payment of over 2 million won (US$1,359.32), data from the state-run pension agency showed Sunday.
A total of 116,166 people received more than 2 million won in pensions as of the end of January, according to the data from the National Pension Service (NPS).
The monthly amount is widely considered the threshold to maintain a stable standard of living without additional income after retirement, according to a survey conducted by the National Pension Research Institute in 2024.
The number of such recipients has increased sharply from 10 people in 2018 to 437 in 2020 and 93,350 people in 2025.
Seoul first introduced the pension scheme in 1988.
Such a steep rise is attributable to an annual raise in pension payments to reflect inflation, and a growing number of long-term pension holders, notably those who have subscribed to the service for more than 20 years.
By gender, only 2.2 percent of the high pension receivers were women, likely due to many women being employed at low-paying jobs, or discontinuing their careers due to child birth or parenting.
Retirees in South Korea, meanwhile, received an average of 700,427 won in pensions as of January, according to the latest findings.
A person receives counseling at the National Pension Service’s branch in northern Seoul, in this file photo taken Jan. 6, 2026. (Yonhap)
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