SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — The monthly pension for elderly South Koreans remained far below the minimum cost of living in 2022, data from the statistics bureau showed Thursday.

According to the Korea Statistics Agency, elderly people aged 65 and over received an average combined pension of 650,000 won ($486) per month in 2022, up 8.3 percent from the previous year.

According to estimates by the National Pension Research Institute, it was far below the minimum living expenses of 1,243,000 won per month required for this age group.

The number of elderly people receiving a pension reached 8,182,000 in 2022, compared to 7,768,000 in the previous year.

Their share of the total population of this age group was 90.4 percent and has continued to rise since 2016.

Of all recipients, 40.4 percent received a monthly pension between 250,000 and 500,000 won, followed by 27.5 percent with 500,000 to 1 million won and 19.9 percent with less than 250,000 won.

Of those aged 18 to 59, 80.2 percent had at least one pension plan and paid an average monthly premium of 318,000 won. (1 US dollar = 1,335.65 won)■