A retiring Korean civil servant gets a retirement allowance on top of any pension. Article 62 of the Public Officials Pension Act pays it after 1 or more years of service on retirement or death, at service period × monthly base income × a rate set by Decree. Decree Art. 58 sets the rate at 6.5% under 5 years, 22.75% for 5–10, 29.25% for 10–15, 32.5% for 15–20 and 39% for 20 or more, and the period is capped at 33 years. With 30 years and a base of 5 million won it comes to 58.5 million won (our sum). Under 10 years the pension is replaced by a retirement lump sum (Art. 51); with 10 or more you can take a pension lump sum instead (Art. 43(5)), both on one formula.
1. Allowance = service period × monthly base income × rate (1+ year).
2. Rate: under 5 yrs 6.5% · under 10 22.75% · under 15 29.25% · under 20 32.5% · 20+ 39%. 33-year cap.
3. Lump sum = base income × years × [0.975 + 0.0065 × (years − 5)], 36-year cap; no less than contributions plus 5% interest.
Calculator
Updates as you type. Allowance = service period × monthly base income × the Decree rate (6.5% under 5 years, 22.75% under 10, 29.25% under 15, 32.5% under 20, 39% for 20+), period capped at 33 years. Lump sum = base income of the month before retirement × years (max 36) × [975/1,000 + 65/10,000 × (years − 5)]. A month counts as 1/12 year; won fractions dropped by us. The floor of contributions plus 5% interest, Addendum special rules for earlier service periods, and the deductions from the allowance period (Art. 25(4)–(5)) are not applied.
Allowance rates — Decree Art. 58
| Service | Rate | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to under 5 years | 6.5% | Under 1 year: no allowance (Act Art. 62(1)) |
| 5 to under 10 | 22.75% | 3.5 times the rate once past 5 years |
| 10 to under 15 | 29.25% | — |
| 15 to under 20 | 32.5% | — |
| 20 or more | 39% | — |
| Cap (2) | The period used may not exceed 33 years | 35 years counts as 33 |
The rate applies to the whole period at once, so the amount jumps between 4 years 11 months and 5 years — with a 2.5 million won base, 4 years 11 months gives about 799,000 won (798,958) and 5 years 2,843,750 won (our sums). Military service and similar credited periods are excluded from the allowance period (Act Art. 25(4)), and half of leave (other than for duty injury etc.), removal from post and suspension is deducted (Art. 25(5)). Enter the period after those adjustments.
The lump sums — Act Art. 43(5) and (7), Art. 51
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement lump sum (Art. 51) | Paid on retirement with under 10 years; amount per the Art. 43(5) formula | No pension right |
| Pension lump sum (Art. 43(3)) | Paid on request instead of a retirement or early pension | A partial “pension deduction lump sum” for years over 10 also exists |
| Formula (Art. 43(5)) | Base income of the month containing the day before retirement × years × [975/1,000 + 65/10,000 × (years − 5)] | At 5 years the factor is 0.975 |
| Years | A month is 1/12 year; over 36 years counts as 36 | Different from the allowance cap (33) |
| Floor (Art. 43(7), Art. 51(3)) | If below contributions plus Civil Act Art. 379 interest (5% a year), that amount is paid | Not computed here |
Four sums — our examples
| Example (ours) | Allowance | Lump sum (our sums) |
|---|---|---|
| 30 years, base 5 million won | 30 × 5m × 39% = 58,500,000 won | 5m × 30 × 1.1375 = 170,625,000 won (pension lump sum) |
| 8 years, 3 million | 8 × 3m × 22.75% = 5,460,000 won | 3m × 8 × 0.9945 = 23,868,000 won (retirement lump sum) |
| 35 years, 4 million | Capped at 33 → 33 × 4m × 39% = 51,480,000 won | 4m × 35 × 1.17 = 163,800,000 won |
| 4 years 11 months, 2.5 million | 4.9167 × 2.5m × 6.5% ≈ 798,958 won | 11,977,717 won (retirement lump sum) |
The lump-sum column assumes the same base income throughout (our sums). The Service sets the actual payment taking in the Addendum’s period-by-period rules and the contributions-plus-interest floor. Contributions are 9% of base income and stop after 36 years (Art. 67).
Checklist
- ☐ At least 1 year of service (for the allowance)
- ☐ Just short of 5, 10, 15 or 20 years? The rate changes
- ☐ Deduct half of leave, removal from post and suspension
- ☐ With 10+ years, pension or lump sum? Pension age: civil service pension age calculator
- ☐ Any split claim by a former spouse (5+ years of marriage, within 3 years of the claim, Art. 49)
Questions that remain
Is the allowance taxed?
The Pension Act provisions we read don’t deal with tax. For retirement income tax see the Income Tax Act side in retirement income tax calculator.
Where do I find my base income?
Act Art. 3(1)4 defines it as the year’s total income less non-taxable income, averaged over 12 months; Decree Art. 5 sets how it’s fixed. The Service or the 9% contribution on your payslip gives a guide (our gloss).
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — Public Officials Pension Act Arts. 3, 25, 43, 51, 62, 67 — source (current text, effective 2 October 2026, Act No. 21857; checked 3 November 2026). Base income definition, the allowance period (Art. 25(4)–(5)), pension lump sum and deduction lump sum and formulas (Art. 43(3), (5)–(7)), retirement lump sum (Art. 51), allowance condition and formula (Art. 62), 9% contributions and 36 years (Art. 67).
- Not read. Worked use of the deduction lump-sum formula, the Decree rates under the Addendum’s base-income rule by period (Addendum Art. 8, Act No. 15523), whether the allowance is taxed.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — Public Officials Pension Act Enforcement Decree Arts. 5, 57, 58 — source (current text, effective 2 October 2026, Decree No. 36728; checked 3 November 2026). How base income is fixed, allowance claims (form or phone), the 6.5, 22.75, 29.25, 32.5 and 39% rates and 33-year cap.
- Not read. Decree Arts. 6 and 7 (years with less than a full year of service).
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — Civil Act Art. 379 — source (current text, effective 17 March 2026, Act No. 21454; checked 3 November 2026). Statutory interest of 5% a year.
- Not read. —
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Government Employees Pension Service — estimates and claims (we did not read its guidance pages).
- Your agency’s HR officer — leave and removal periods.
Written on 3 November 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
