The upper limit of the basic pension for seniors aged 65 and older in the bottom 70-percent income bracket will increase to 323-thousand-180 won a month starting from this month.

The health and welfare ministry said on Sunday that it will issue an administrative notice from Monday to Wednesday of revisions to such pensions that have taken into account last year’s inflation rate of five-point-one percent.

The basic pension for elderly couples will rise this year to 517-thousand-80 won from last year’s 492-thousand won, starting from January 25.

When the basic pension system was first introduced in 2014, 200-thousand won in such an allowance was given out, and it has been steadily rising since standing at 300-thousand won in 2019.

The number of recipients, which had stood at some four-point-three million in 2014, is expected to total roughly six-point-65 million this year, which would more than triple related budgets from 2014 to 22-and-a-half trillion won.

The health ministry said raising the basic pension has contributed to lowering the relative poverty rate among the demographic, citing that the rate slipped nearly seven percentage points from 2014 to 37-point-six percent in 2021 .