S. Koreans receive 737,000 won monthly on average in pension in 2024: data

South Korean pensioners received an average monthly income of 737,000 won, or US$534, in 2024, according to data released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. This represents a 6 percent increase compared to the previous year, with the proportion of pensioners aged 65 and older rising from 90.9 percent to 91.2 percent. The median monthly pension amount was 497,000 won.

While only 6.3 percent of the 9.12 million pensioners received monthly payments of 2 million won or more, 33.8 percent earned between 500,000 won and 1 million won, and 46.7 percent received between 250,000 won and 500,000 won. Households with at least one pensioner received an average monthly income of 959,000 won, up 61,000 won from the previous year.

Pension recipients who owned homes received 914,000 won on average, significantly more than the 581,000 won received by those without homes. This disparity is attributed to homeowners' typically more stable economic activity during their working years, which allowed them to remain enrolled in pension programs longer and contribute more.

Male pension recipients received an average of 957,000 won per month, compared to 546,000 won for female recipients. This difference can be attributed to varying lengths of pension enrollment periods and contribution amounts. The number of people aged 18 to 59 enrolled in pension programs was 23.48 million in 2024, down 1.1 percent from the previous year. They accounted for 81.1 percent of the age group and paid an average of 363,000 won monthly, up 19,000 won from the previous year.