National Pension Service Published Statistics: 8,062,142 beneficiaries from January to July this year… Doubled in 11 years compared to 4,028,671 in 2015
Beneficiaries receiving 200,000 to under 400,000 won per month make up the largest share at 38%… 66% of the total receive less than 600,000 won
National Pension Research Institute Outlook: 56 trillion won in benefits this year, with 9 million beneficiaries in 2028 and 10.06 million in 2030
Starting age for benefits to rise from 63 to 64 in 2028… Why the calculations are changing for the youth generation paying the premiums
The number of people receiving the National Pension has surpassed 8 million. However, nearly 10 out of 10 of them receive less than 600,000 won a month. Between the promise that the state will take care of one's old age and the reality of the actual payout amount, the gap is bridged by the insurance premiums paid by the currently working generation—especially the youth generation, whose retirement is the furthest in the future.
According to the National Pension Service's 'National Pension Published Statistics' on the 1st, the number of beneficiaries who received a pension at least once from the beginning of the year to July 31 stood at 8,062,142. This figure has doubled in 11 years since the number of beneficiaries first exceeded 4 million (4,028,671) in 2015. The Service explained that this figure combines both old-age pension and lump-sum beneficiaries, and also includes individuals who received their pension and passed away during this period. As society enters a super-aged era, this upward trend is expected to continue for the time being.
Looking at the distribution of benefit amounts, '200,000 won or more and under 400,000 won' accounted for the largest share at 38.0% (2,991,230 people) of the total (based on 7,863,299 people), followed by '400,000 won or more and under 600,000 won' at 21.2% (1,666,760 people). The lowest bracket, 'under 200,000 won,' also reached 6.8% (535,279 people). Combining these, a staggering 66.0% of all beneficiaries receive less than 600,000 won per month. According to the National Pension Research Institute's mid-term fiscal outlook (2026–2030), this year's beneficiaries are estimated at about 8.28 million, with total payouts reaching 56 trillion won. In 2028, when the age to begin receiving the old-age pension increases from 63 to 64, the number is projected to reach approximately 9,001,000, and about 10,060,000 by 2030.
The problem is where the burden shifts as expenditures grow. The National Pension is funded by the contributions of the economically active working generation. While the number of beneficiaries has doubled in 11 years, reform discussions have repeatedly been delayed due to political calculations ahead of elections. The younger the generation, the more premiums they have to pay and the later they will receive benefits (with the starting age becoming 64 in 2028), and the burden of public funds covered by taxes ultimately falls on the entire generation. There is a need to redesign the roles of the basic pension and retirement pension, fairly adjust contribution rates and income replacement rates, and, above all, establish principles to prevent populist welfare expansion—such as handing out cash out of anxiety over old age—from eroding the pension fund. For the 2030 generation, the pension is no longer something to 'receive' but an 'uncertain investment.' This is why politicians have the responsibility to reset these calculations.