Retirement-pension gap worries

[Anchor]

The term "allowance pension" has emerged because it is difficult to live on just the national pension in retirement.

However, for those aged 60 to 64, just after retirement, the issue of pensions appears to be even more serious.

The difference between the retirement age and the age at which the national pension begins creates a significant blind spot.

Reporter Kim Jin-hwa has the story.

[Report]

The security guards at this apartment complex are all over 60 years old.

It is impossible to live on pensions alone.

[Apartment Security Guard: "There are six of us working, aged from 63 to 73."]

Among those aged 65 and older, 90.9%, or more than 9 out of 10, receive pensions.

However, for those aged 60 to 64, this rate drops sharply to 42.7%.

Many have stopped working after reaching retirement age, but they only receive partial pensions.

Based on the current payment age of 63, the pension receipt rate for those aged 60 to 62 is 24.8%, while for those aged 63 to 64, it is 69.9%.

Whether one has reached the age to receive the national pension is crucial.

[Choi Jae-hyuk/Director of Administrative Statistics, Statistics Korea: "(The national pension) eligibility age increased from 62 to 63 in 2023. The characteristics of those who receive the national pension and those who do not are very different..."]

The age for receiving the national pension will increase to 65 in 2034.

If the current retirement age is maintained until then, those aged 60 to 64 will be in a complete pension blind spot.

If it is difficult to endure the income gap, one can opt for early pension receipt.

However, for each year the receipt is advanced, the total amount of pension received for life decreases by 6%.

If the national pension I would receive at my age was 1 million won per month, receiving it 5 years early would mean getting 700,000 won per month, and receiving it 3 years early would mean getting 820,000 won per month.

This is KBS News, Kim Jin-hwa.