Seoul: The number of recipients of South Korea's national pension program is projected to surpass 8 million this year, as announced by the National Pension Service (NPS). This development comes in the context of the country's rapidly aging population.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the NPS anticipates reaching this milestone for the first time since the fund's inception in 1988. The number of recipients had already reached 7.83 million by November of the previous year. An official from the NPS noted that while the exact timing is uncertain, the numbers are expected to exceed 8 million, possibly as early as the first half of the year or by the summer.

The growth in the number of national pension recipients is accelerating due to South Korea's challenges with an aging population and a declining birth rate. In 2022, a report by the National Pension Research Institute predicted that the number of recipients would approach 7.99 million this year.

South Korea entered the category of a "super-aged" society in 2024, which is characterized by more than 20 percent of its 51 million population being aged 65 or older.