Verification of Basic Pension Recipient Selection Criteria Begins

The government has initiated verification of the recipient selection criteria for the basic pension provided to address the issue of elderly poverty.

Currently, the basic pension system allows couples aged 65 and older to receive benefits even if their monthly income amounts to 7.45 million won (approximately 89.4 million won annually).

As a result, there have been ongoing criticisms suggesting that the number of recipients should be reduced to provide more pension benefits to actual impoverished elderly individuals.

According to the National Pension Service, the National Pension Research Institute held a '2025 Research Service Review Committee' on the 10th and unanimously passed the research project entitled 'Analysis of Existing Models for Basic Pension Selection Criteria.'

This research will continue the work on the selection criteria for basic pension recipients that the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been responsible for, thoroughly reviewing any errors in the existing methods and serving as foundational data for future institutional reforms.

Basic Pension Selection Criteria and Current Status

The basic pension is an important social security system provided monthly to individuals aged 65 and older whose income and assets are below a certain level.

According to current law, 70% of the income-lower elderly population aged 65 and older are eligible for benefits. The government announces the boundary amount corresponding to exactly 70% of the total elderly population's income and asset distribution each year.

Currently, the maximum payment for the basic pension is 342,510 won per month for single households and 548,000 won per month for couples.

The selection criteria amount for the basic pension has been continuously increasing each year. This year, single elderly individuals earning 2.28 million won per month (or couples earning 3.648 million won per month) are also eligible to receive the basic pension.

However, since the selection criteria amount is calculated after applying various deductions to actual income, it is possible for a single elderly individual earning 4.37 million won monthly in labor income to receive the basic pension.

For couples, this is equivalent to 7.45 million won per month, which translates to an annual amount of 89.4 million won.

Image source: News1, illustrative photo for better understanding of the article / gettyimagesbank, on the 26th, middle-aged individuals are waiting for consultations at the Seoul Western Employment and Welfare Plus Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul. / News1