Monthly pension for senior citizens falls short of minimum living expenses in 2023: data

A job seeker checks job postings at an employment center in Seoul, Dec. 11, 2024. Newsis

Senior citizens received an average monthly pension of 695,000 won ($501.15) in 2023, data showed Monday, falling short of the minimum estimated cost of living.

A total of 8.64 million people aged 65 and older, accounting for 90.9 percent of the age group, received pension payments from at least one type of pension program, including the state pension, as of 2023, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.

The average monthly pension amount marked a 6.9 percent increase from the previous year and has been steadily rising, the data showed.

However, separate government data indicated that a senior citizen needs at least 1.58 million won per month to cover basic living expenses.

The government has been expanding pension programs to help improve financial security for elderly citizens amid the country's rapidly aging population.

Despite such efforts, Korea's elderly poverty rate stood at 39.7 percent in 2023, the highest among the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This figure has shown a worsening trend in recent years, with the rate for women significantly higher than that of men.