More people, especially women, voluntarily subscribing to state pension

More South Koreans, especially women, are voluntarily subscribing to the state pension as a means to secure stable income for their senior years, data showed Monday.

As of the end of last month, 317,800 people -- 48,843 men and 268,957 women -- were voluntary subscribers to the state pension plan, according to the National Pension Service. These people are not required to have pension subscriptions, which applies to people aged 18-60 and have an income, but are mostly housewives, military personnel and students aged under 27 who want to receive a pension in their later years.

The number of non-mandatory subscribers has been increasing steadily, exceeding the 100,000 mark for the first time in 2011 at 171,134 and rising to 207,890 in the following year.  

(Yonhap)

By 2015, it jumped to 240,582, and it increased to 296,757 last year.

More people were also extending their existing subscriptions, according to the NPS. They are either delaying the starting date of the pension to increase the amount of monthly pension they can receive later on, or putting in more money to meet the minimum 10-year subscription period. 

The number of such subscribers reached 311,089 at end-April, including 100,388 men and 210,701 women. It had increased from 49,381 in 2010 to 62,846 the next year. It recorded 219,111 in 2015, and increased to 283,132 last year, data showed. (Yonhap)