Seoul: Monthly pension payments from the National Pension Fund exceeded the 4 trillion won (US$2.9 billion) mark in February, marking a significant milestone due to the country's aging population, as revealed by data from its operator.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the monthly payments made to subscribers of the public fund reached 4.02 trillion won in February, an increase of 77.5 billion won compared to the previous month. If this trend continues, the total payments from the pension fund are projected to hit 50 trillion won by the end of the year.

The growth in pension payments has been attributed to the rising number of pension recipients and the increasing size of their pensions, driven by the aging demographic. The annual payments saw a significant rise from 11.5 trillion won in 2012 to 20.7 trillion won in 2018, further climbing to 34 trillion won in 2022 and reaching 43.7 trillion won last year.

Since its inception in 1988, the public fund took 24 years to cross the 10 trillion won mark in annual payments. However, the subsequent milestones of 20, 30, and 40 trillion won were reached in just six, four, and two years, respectively.

As of 2024, the number of pension recipients eligible for payments increased to 7.37 million, a rise of 550,000 from the year before. Meanwhile, the number of contributors to the public pension system has been declining, with a total of 21.98 million contributors in 2024, down from 22.38 million in 2023 and 22.5 million in 2022.

While contributions still surpass payouts, the current trend suggests that this balance may soon shift, the data indicated.