One third of local regular workers entitled to retirement pension

SEOUL (Yonhap) - One third of South Korea's regular workers are entitled to company-funded retirement pensions, the labor ministry said Wednesday, indicating a growing popularity of such plans.
Out of the total 9.13 million local regular workers with stable employment, 2.95 million, or 32.3 percent, held such retirement plans as of the end of August, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said.
The ministry also said only 7.8 percent of the total 1.51 million workplaces in the country provide retirement pension benefits to their employees as of end-August.
The accumulated pension deposits under the management of 57 pension managers like banks, insurers and securities companies reached 37.46 trillion won (US$31.4 billion) as of end-August, showing a sharp increase from 20 trillion won registered at the end of September last year and 10 trillion won at end-2009, according to the ministry. At the end of September 2008, the sum numbered only 4.6 trillion won, it added.
The report came as the country is striving to help build solid financial plans for retirees amid a fast-aging population and falling birthrate.
"The retirement pension plan is the key system that guarantees post-retirement income along with the national pension system for the country, which is entering into an aged society," a ministry official said.