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National pension recipients likely to top 8 million this year

Published: 02 Mar. 2026, 13:14 Updated: 02 Mar. 2026, 20:33

A visitor consults with an employee at the general consultation office at the National Pension Service’s Northern Seoul Regional Headquarters in Seoul on Jan. 9. [YONHAP]

The number of recipients of the national pension program is likely to surpass 8 million this year, the National Pension Service said (NPS) Monday, amid the country's rapidly aging population.

The NPS expects the number of such recipients to reach the milestone by the middle of the year for the first time since the fund's introduction in 1988, after hitting 7.83 million in November.

"It is not certain whether it will be in the first half of the year or in the summer, but we expect the number of recipients to surpass 8 million this year," an NPS official said.

The number is likely to grow faster than expected as the country grapples with rapid population aging and a low birthrate.

In 2022, a National Pension Research Institute report forecast that the number of recipients would reach 7.99 million this year.

Korea has been classified as a "super-aged" society since 2024, when more than 20 percent of its 51 million population became 65 or older.

Yonhap