A former spouse of a Korean civil servant can receive part of the ex-spouse’s retirement pension for life. Article 45 of the Government Employees Pension Act (GEPA) gives a split pension to someone with 5 years or more of marriage during the ex-spouse’s service who is divorced, whose ex-spouse is entitled to a retirement (or early) pension, and who has reached 65. The amount is the pension for the marriage period divided equally, and it must be claimed within 3 years of meeting all conditions. Under the addendum the age rises year by year from 60 to 65, and it is 62 in 2024 to 2026. Here are the articles with a date and amount calculator.
1. Conditions: 5+ years of marriage during service + divorce + ex-spouse entitled to a retirement pension + age (Art. 45(1)).
2. Age: 62 in 2024–2026, 63 in 2027–2029, 64 in 2030–2032, then 65 (Addendum Art. 4(2)).
3. Claim within 3 years of meeting all conditions; divorced before the age, you can claim in advance within 3 years of the divorce (Art. 48).
Calculator
Updates as you type. The amount is our estimate: pension × marriage years ÷ service years ÷ 2. The Act says “the pension for the marriage period, divided equally” without a formula in what we read, and a court decision on pension division takes priority (Art. 46). The age is our reading of Addendum Art. 4(2) by calendar year. The deadline is counted with the Civil Act’s first-day rule and isn’t moved for weekends.
Who, and how much — Arts. 45 and 46
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage period (Art. 45(1)) | Marriage during the spouse’s service as a civil servant, excluding periods with no real marriage (separation, leaving home) — 5 years or more | Marriage before service or after retirement doesn’t count |
| Conditions 1–3 | (1) divorced (2) the former spouse is entitled to a retirement or early pension (3) you have reached 65 | From when all three are met, for life |
| Amount (Art. 45(2)) | The pension for the marriage period, divided equally | The calculator estimates pro rata (our sum) |
| Court decision (Art. 46) | If pension division is decided separately under Civil Act Arts. 839-2 or 843, that applies | A different ratio can be agreed or ordered |
| Deadline (Art. 45(3)) | Within 3 years of meeting all conditions | Miss it and you may lose it |
Decree Article 44 excludes from the marriage period any time declared missing (Civil Act Art. 27(1)) and time registered as whereabouts unknown, but periods the couple agreed, or a court found, had no real marriage apply instead. Such periods must be reported to the GEPS.
At what age — Addendum Art. 4(2)
| Year | Split pension age | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016–2021 | 60 | — |
| 2022–2023 | 61 | — |
| 2024–2026 | 62 | 62 in 2026 |
| 2027–2029 | 63 | — |
| 2030–2032 | 64 | — |
| From 2033 | 65 (Art. 45(1)3) | — |
Addendum Article 4(2) lets someone meeting the divorce and entitlement conditions receive it on “reaching the age set for each year”. The calculator reads this as reaching that year’s age within that year (our reading). Someone born 20 May 1966 is 62 in 2028, short of that year’s 63, and qualifies on turning 63 on 20 May 2029. Someone born 2 March 1964 turns 62 on 2 March 2026 and meets that year’s age.
These rules (Arts. 45–48) apply to people divorced on or after 1 January 2016, and the marriage period includes marriage during service before 2016 (Addendum Art. 4(1)).
Two sums — our example
| Case (our example) | Result | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Born 20 May 1966, divorced 1 Aug 2024, ex’s pension from 1 Jan 2023, 3,000,000 won a month, 18 of 30 service years married | 900,000 won a month (estimate). Conditions met 20 May 2029 (age 63), claim by 20 May 2032, paid from June 2029 | Advance claim by 1 Aug 2027 |
| Born 2 Mar 1964, divorced 15 Sep 2026, ex’s pension from 1 Jan 2025, 2,400,000 won, 12 of 24 years married | 600,000 won a month (estimate). Met 15 Sep 2026, claim by 15 Sep 2029, paid from October 2026 | Already 62 at divorce, so no advance claim |
Payment starts the month after the month the entitlement arises (Decree Art. 45(2)). Under 5 years of marriage during service (say 4), there is no split pension.
Claiming in advance — Art. 48
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Advance claim (para. 1) | If you divorce before the age, you can claim from when the divorce takes effect | Counts as the Art. 45(3) claim (para. 2) |
| Deadline and limits (para. 3) | Within 3 years of the divorce; may be withdrawn before the age. Claim and withdrawal once each | Saves remembering the deadline years later |
| Payment (para. 4) | Even after an advance claim, paid once all conditions are met | No money earlier |
After it starts — Arts. 47 and 49
- Changes on the ex-spouse’s side don’t affect the split pension, except reductions or suspensions for criminal penalties, where Art. 65 applies (Art. 47(1)).
- Two or more split pensions are added together, as is your own retirement pension (paras. 2 and 4).
- A split-pension holder isn’t treated as a retirement-pension recipient for survivor pension purposes (para. 3).
- When the split pension ends, the ex-spouse gets the undivided amount from the next month (para. 5). If both are retirement-pension recipients, they may agree not to split (para. 6).
- If the divorce came before the ex-spouse claimed benefits and they take a lump sum, you can claim a split of it within 3 years of their claim (Art. 49).
How the National Pension split and survivor pensions interact is in split pension and survivor pension.
Checklist
- ☐ Divorced on or after 1 January 2016?
- ☐ 5+ years of real marriage during their service
- ☐ The age for your year (62 in 2026)
- ☐ Claim within 3 years of meeting all conditions, or claim in advance within 3 years of divorce
- ☐ Did the divorce settle pension division separately (Art. 46)?
Questions that remain
What if my ex-spouse is still working?
Article 45(1)2 requires them to be entitled to a retirement or early pension. If you divorced before the age, an advance claim secures the deadline in the meantime.
Does remarriage end the split pension?
Article 45 says it is paid “for as long as they live”, and we found no sentence making remarriage a ground for ending it in the articles we read. Ask the GEPS how it is handled.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Government Employees Pension Act Arts. 45–49 — source (current text, effective 2 October 2026, Act No. 21857; checked 5 November 2026). Split pension conditions (5 years, divorce, entitlement, 65), equal division, 3-year claim, separate decisions under the Civil Act, six rules on its relation to other pensions, advance claim and withdrawal (once each, 3 years), lump-sum split. Addendum (Act No. 15523) Arts. 4 and 5 (divorces from 1 Jan 2016, ages 60–64 by year).
- Korean law database — GEPA Enforcement Decree Arts. 44 and 45 — source (current text, effective 2 October 2026, Decree No. 36728; checked 5 November 2026). Excluded periods, claim documents, payment from the next month, withdrawing an advance claim.
- Not read. How the GEPS actually computes the marriage-period pension, case law on Civil Act Art. 839-2, the Prime Minister’s Ordinance on reporting.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Government Employees Pension Service — the actual amount and recognised marriage period.
Written on 5 November 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
