Of the total, elderly female recipients accounted for 995,693.

This number is up from 764,719 in 2011.

The NPS said more women were voluntarily subscribing to the pension scheme to better prepare for their senior years. Slightly over 250,000 women had joined as of January this year. By March, the number had grown to over 260,000.

The government has also been encouraging women who previously held jobs to get back into the pension system, allowing them to resubscribe and get benefits later. 

Pension operators estimate that when both husbands and wives receive benefits, they can cover up to 70 percent of their needed monthly living expenses.

By age group, women between 65 and 69 were the largest at 303,079, followed by those between 60-64 at 279,294. The 70-74 age group was next at 229,006.

The average amount of the pension was low. The NPS tally said

435,516 of the women, close to half of the female recipients, were receiving between 100,000 won ($84.75) and 200,000 won a month.

Another 309,390 women were getting between 200,000 won and 300,000 won. The NPS records showed there were 1,364 women subscribers receiving 1 million won or more.

The highest monthly payment was 1.87 million won, going to a 65-year-old woman. (Yonhap)