Lifelong old-age pension, number of foreign recipients exceeds 10,000

*What is the old-age pension? : The number of foreigners receiving the national pension old-age pension, which is paid monthly for life, has exceeded 10,000 for the first time in the first half of this year. The old-age pension is a pension that is paid monthly for life after the age of 65 if you have subscribed to the national pension for more than 10 years. Foreign residents paying national pension in Korea, please listen carefully.

*How many foreign national pension subscribers are there?: According to data submitted by the National Pension Service and made public by Rep. Kim Mi-ae, as of the end of June this year, the number of foreign national pension subscribers was 455,839, an increase of more than 130,000 in five years.

Chinese are the largest group with 194,241 people (42.6%), followed by Vietnamese with 48,590 people (10.7%), Indonesians with 31,349 people (6.9%), Cambodians with 36,003 people (6.7%), Filipinos with 27,093 people (5.9%), and Thais with 21,960 people (4.8%).

*How many foreigners are receiving old-age pensions?: The number of foreigners receiving old-age pensions was 14,110. The total pension paid in the first six months of this year alone amounted to 26,788 million won.

By nationality, Chinese people account for the majority, 53.5% of all foreigners. 5,571 Chinese people received 10.17 billion won in old-age pensions over the first six months of this year. This means that each Chinese person received 1.81 million won over six months. 585 Taiwanese people received 3.24 million won over six months, and 426 Japanese people received 2.69 million won over six months.

*How many foreigners are receiving survivor pensions?: The number of foreigners receiving survivor pensions, which pay 40-60% of the old-age pension to the spouse when the recipient dies, has exceeded 4,000 for the first time this year. As of the end of June this year, 8.112 billion won was paid to 4,020 foreigners. The number of foreigners receiving survivor pensions was only 2,802 in 2019, but the trend is increasing every year.

By nationality, 1,701 Chinese people received survivors' pensions of 1.69 million won per person for six months. 473 Vietnamese people received 2.15 million won per person for six months, 359 Japanese people received 2.02 million won per person, and 220 Filipino people received 2.04 million won per person.

*Unnecessary worries from Korean media: When this kind of content was reported, many Korean media outlets were worried that too much pension was being paid to foreigners. However, the national pension is not something that foreigners voluntarily pay into, but rather an insurance policy that the Korean government forcibly collects.

Considering the fact that most foreigners do not want to pay into the national pension, if there is any concern, it is better not to force collection. It is not right to criticize foreigners while overlooking the fact that they contribute greatly to the finances of Korea's national pension system.

Foreigners who pay national pension should also remember that they can receive a considerable old-age pension, etc., if they pay pension for more than 10 years.

Mary Eve of Papaya Story