Retirement pension recipients overwhelmingly take lump sums, raising income concerns

Last year, 84% of the 600,000 people who began receiving retirement pension benefits chose a lump-sum payment instead of pension installments. Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Financial Supervisory Service shared the figures at a system-improvement seminar and discussed ways to strengthen the role of retirement pensions as retirement income. Even among those who chose pension payments, short payout periods dominated. Recipients taking payments for 10 years or less accounted for 82%, raising concerns that retirement pensions may not translate into stable living expenses in old age. The seminar discussed measures such as expanding lifetime annuity and long-term pension products. Source: mk.co.kr