Senior citizens received a pension of 650,000 won (US$486.7) per month on average in 2022, which came far below the minimum cost of living, data showed Thursday.

A total of 8.18 million people aged 65 and older, or 90.4 percent of the total population of the age group, received pension payments from more than one type of pension program, including the basic state pension, as of 2022, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The average monthly amount stood at 650,000 won, marking an 8.3 percent increase on-year, and it was larger than the upper limit covered under the national basic pension of 623,368 won.

But the National Pension Research Institute has said that a senior citizen needs at least 1.24 million won per month to live.

Of the total recipients, 40.4 percent drew a pension of between 250,000 won and 500,000 won, followed by 27.5 percent getting 500,000 to 1 million won, and 19.9 percent receiving less than 250,000 won.

People visit a job fair for senior citizens in Seoul, in this fil
e photo taken Dec. 13, 2023. (Yonhap)

People visit a job fair for senior citizens in Seoul, in this file photo taken Dec. 13, 2023. (Yonhap)

The data also showed that 80.2 percent of people aged 18-59 joined at least one pension program, and their average monthly premium came to 318,000 won.

Of the economically active individuals in the age group, 94.5 percent joined a pension program, but the rate among the unemployed came to 50.8 percent.

South Korea has been expanding pension programs in an effort to help ensure financial stability for senior citizens amid rapid aging.

In 2020, the poverty rate among South Korea’s elderly citizens stood at 40.4 percent, the highest among member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a government report showed.

Source: Yonhap News Agency