Mr. Han, 61 years old this year, has been receiving the national pension in advance from this month. As usual, Mr. Han will be able to receive a pension from 2025, when he turns 63. He said, “Even though there is a disadvantage of reducing the pension if you receive it early, I chose to receive it early in order to enjoy my old age while I was young without burdening my children.”
The number of early recipients who accept the penalty of reducing the amount of national pension benefits and advance the timing of receiving benefits has exceeded 800,000. It is the largest since the early receipt system was introduced in 1999.
According to the National Pension Service on the 9th, as of the end of April, the number of early recipients of the national pension was 800,413. This is an increase of 45,111 from the end of last year (755,302). Within four months, it approached the number of early recipients (49,671), which increased over the previous year. This year as well, it has increased every month from 764,281 in January to 777,954 in February and 790,371 in March.
The national pension can be received스포츠토토 up to 5 years earlier than the age at which benefits begin to be received. For each year of early retirement, the benefit is reduced by 6% per year. In other words, if you receive 5 years first, you lose up to 30%. This is why early pensions are called ‘damage pensions’. As of last April, the average amount received by recipients receiving early pension was 654,963 won per month.
The reason for the increase in the number of early recipients is, first of all, the lowering of the pension age from 62 to 63 this year. For example, a person who is 62 years old this year could receive a pension from this year, as per last year’s standards. However, it is analyzed that the number of early applicants has increased among those who have difficulty waiting until then as the pension payment period has been pushed back by a year. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of applicants for early pensions in 2013 and 2018, when the pension age was delayed, increased by 5912 (7.5%) and 6875 (18.7%), respectively, compared to the previous year.
There is also an analysis that it is an unavoidable choice to fill the income gap between retirement and pension receipt. In Korea, the legal retirement age is 60, but the current pension age is 63 in principle. The age at which eligibility begins to receive the national pension will be gradually raised to 65 by 2033. Even if you reach the retirement age, there will be a 3-5 year ‘income crevasse (blank period)’.
An official from the National Pension Service said, “Unlike Korea, the United States, Canada, and France do not have an upper age limit for pension subscription or there is no income crevasse because the upper age limit for pension subscription is higher than the age at which benefits can be received.”
In some cases, people apply for early pension by ‘crying and eating mustard’ in order to maintain their status as dependents of health insurance. The income standard for registering as a dependent of a working child and not having to pay health insurance premiums was strengthened from 34 million won or less per year to 20 million won or less per year from last September. In other words, those with a monthly income of 1.67 million won or more, including pension, are converted to local subscribers and can be hit by a ‘health insurance premium bomb’. For this reason, it is not uncommon for people who are expected to have an annual income of over 20 million won including pensions to apply for an early pension.
Some point out that it is shortsighted to apply for an early pension to avoid paying health insurance premiums. Unlike private pensions, the amount of the national pension is linked to the annual inflation rate. Because of this, one day, the pension payment will increase and you may be eliminated from the dependent status. Yoon Seok-myeong, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, said, “Receiving an early pension to maintain dependent status may not be a wise choice from a long-term perspective.”
An official from the National Pension Service also said, “Some people have an advantage in applying for an early pension for health reasons, but since the average life span itself continues to increase, it may be more reasonable to receive a normal pension rather than a reduced early pension.”
