The Korean National Pension disability pension pays a share of your basic pension amount that depends on your disability grade. Article 68 of the National Pension Act sets it at the full basic pension amount (100%) for grade 1, 800/1,000 (80%) for grade 2 and 600/1,000 (60%) for grade 3, each plus the dependant addition, while grade 4 receives 2,250/1,000 (225%) of the basic pension amount once, as lump-sum compensation. If the same disability also entitles you to an industrial accident disability benefit or a Labor Standards Act disability compensation, Article 113 pays only one half of the disability pension. Enter the basic pension amount and your dependants and the calculator shows the pension for each grade and the amount after that offset.
1. Grade 1 100% · grade 2 80% · grade 3 60% + dependant addition — grades 1 to 3 are paid every month (Art. 68(1)). The dependant addition applies to grades 1 to 3 only.
2. Grade 4: a 225% lump sum — 2,250/1,000 of the basic pension amount, paid once (Art. 68(2)).
3. Halved alongside industrial accident benefits — when the same cause entitles you to a disability benefit under Art. 57 of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, disability compensation under Art. 80 of the Labor Standards Act and the like (Art. 113).
4. Our example — a basic pension amount of ₩12,000,000 a year, grade 2 and a spouse gives ₩9,906,630 a year (₩825,552 a month). With an industrial accident disability benefit as well, ₩4,953,315 a year (₩412,776 a month).
Calculator
Results update as you type. Enter the basic pension amount as a yearly figure (from your NPS membership statement or pension estimate). Fractions of a won are dropped in the yearly arithmetic, and the monthly figure is the yearly amount divided by 12 with fractions dropped — our arithmetic; under Art. 117 of the National Pension Act amounts below 10 won follow the National Treasury Management Act, whose Art. 47(1) leaves them out, but neither provision says whether that happens on the yearly or the monthly figure, so the calculator shows whole-won amounts (our reading). The defaults in the two dependant fields are the amounts the National Pension Service’s “benefit calculation” page gives for January–December 2026 (rechecked 12 November 2026 — the same values as our National Pension dependant addition page). We do not decide from the text alone whether Art. 113 halves the grade 4 lump sum (see “Questions that remain”).
The provisions — as written
| Provision | What the text says | Points to note (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Act Art. 67(1) | A member or former member with a physical or mental disability from illness or injury who meets all of the following receives a disability pension, by degree of disability, from the disability determination date for as long as the disability lasts — 1. aged 18 or over at the first medical examination (or the date of joining, if joined before 18) and under the old-age pension age; 2. any one of: (a) contributions paid for at least one third of the period subject to coverage at the first examination, (b) 3 years or more of contributions in the 5 years up to the first examination (not if arrears in the covered period are 3 years or more), (c) 10 years or more of membership at the first examination | The calculator assumes these conditions are met and only works out the amount |
| Act Art. 67(2) | Disability determination date: 1. the date of recovery, if recovery comes within 1 year 6 months of the first examination; 2. if not, the day after the date 1 year 6 months after the first examination (…) | Item 3 onward not reproduced here |
| Act Art. 68(1) | By grade — 1. grade 1: the basic pension amount plus the dependant addition; 2. grade 2: 800/1,000 of the basic pension amount plus the dependant addition; 3. grade 3: 600/1,000 of the basic pension amount plus the dependant addition | 800/1,000 = 80%, 600/1,000 = 60% (our conversion) |
| Act Art. 68(2) | A person of disability grade 4 is paid 2,250/1,000 of the basic pension amount as lump-sum compensation. | 225%. Nothing is said about adding the dependant addition |
| Act Art. 69 | If a further disability arises for a disability pensioner, the pension follows the combined degree of the earlier and later disabilities; if that would be less than the earlier pension, the earlier pension is paid | A new disability does not lower the pension |
| Act Art. 70(1), (4) | The NPS reviews the degree of disability and changes the amount if the grade changes, or ends entitlement if no grade applies; (2) a pensioner may ask for a change if the disability worsens; (4) (1) and (2) do not apply to pensioners aged 60 or over. | After 60 the grade is no longer changed on review |
| Act Art. 71 | For a grade 4 lump-sum recipient, when applying Art. 56 (overlapping benefits), Arts. 69 and 70 and the limitation period in Art. 115(1), 400/1,000 of the basic pension amount divided by 12 is treated as paid for 67 months from the month after the month the entitlement arose. | 400/1,000 ÷ 12 × 67 is just over 2,233/1,000 — close to the 225% (our arithmetic) |
| Act Art. 52(1) | Dependant addition: 1. spouse ₩150,000 a year; 2. a child under 19 or with a disability ₩100,000 a year; 3. a parent aged 60+ or with a disability ₩100,000 a year. (2) Art. 51(2) and (3) apply with necessary changes | The adjusted 2026 amounts are ₩306,630 for a spouse and ₩204,360 per child or parent (January–December 2026, NPS guidance checked 12 November). The NPS page raises the parent age condition by year of birth — 61 for those born 1953–1956, 62 for 1957–1960, 63 for 1961–1964, 64 for 1965–1968 and 65 for 1969 or later. The basis is Addenda Article 8 of the National Pension Act (Act No. 8541): the “Article 48(1) item 3 of Act No. 5623” on its list is the old additional-pension (today’s dependant addition) rule for parents “60 or over” (checked 13 November, our reading) |
| Act Art. 113 | Where a disability or survivor pensioner can receive, for the same cause, any of the following, one half of the disability pension under Art. 68 or survivor pension under Art. 74 is paid — 1. Labor Standards Act Art. 80 disability compensation, Art. 82 survivor compensation, Art. 84 lump-sum compensation; 2. Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act Art. 57 disability benefit, Art. 62 survivor benefit, Art. 91-3 pneumoconiosis compensation pension, Art. 91-4 pneumoconiosis survivor pension; 3. Seafarers’ Act Arts. 97, 98 and 99; 4. Fishing Vessel Crew and Fishing Vessel Accident Compensation Insurance Act Arts. 25, 26 and 27 | “Can receive” — worded as entitlement, not as whether a claim was made. We read the half as applying to the whole Art. 68 amount, dependant addition included (our reading) |
| Act Art. 56(1) | If a recipient becomes entitled to two or more benefits under this Act, only the one the recipient chooses is paid and the others are suspended. | Disability and old-age pensions together: you pick one |
Grade by grade — our examples
We take a person with a basic pension amount of ₩12,000,000 a year (₩1,000,000 a month) and change only the grade and the accident benefit. The dependant addition uses the 2026 amounts (₩306,630 for a spouse, ₩204,360 per child or parent).
| Case (our example) | Disability pension | How (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 2 · spouse | ₩9,906,630 a year (₩825,552 a month) | 12,000,000 × 800/1,000 = 9,600,000 + 306,630 |
| Same person, also entitled to an industrial accident disability benefit | ₩4,953,315 a year (₩412,776 a month) | 9,906,630 × 1/2 (Art. 113) |
| Grade 1 · spouse · two children under 19 | ₩12,715,350 a year (₩1,059,612 a month) | 12,000,000 + 306,630 + 204,360 × 2 |
| Grade 3 · no dependants | ₩7,200,000 a year (₩600,000 a month) | 12,000,000 × 600/1,000 |
| Grade 4 | Lump sum ₩27,000,000, once | 12,000,000 × 2,250/1,000. Under Art. 71, ₩400,000 a month for 67 months, ₩26,800,000 in all, is treated as paid |
The second row is the biggest difference on this page. If someone injured at work can receive an industrial accident disability benefit and also qualifies for the National Pension disability pension, the National Pension side is halved. The provision does not cut the accident benefit; it makes the National Pension disability pension one half. Where the illness or accident has nothing to do with work and there is no accident benefit, Art. 113 does not apply (our reading).
The grade 4 lump sum is paid once, but Art. 71 treats it as if 400/1,000 of the basic pension amount divided by 12 had been paid each month for 67 months. In our example that is ₩400,000 × 67 months = ₩26,800,000 (our arithmetic). That period is what counts if another National Pension benefit arises and overlapping benefits are adjusted (Art. 56), or if the disability worsens and the grade is changed (Art. 70).
Where the basic pension amount comes from
The disability pension builds on the same “basic pension amount” as the old-age pension. It is a yearly figure worked out under Art. 51 from the average income of all members, your own average insured income and your membership period, so it differs from person to person. This calculator does not do that arithmetic; it takes the basic pension amount from your NPS membership statement or pension estimate. For a rough idea of the old-age basic amount, try our National Pension calculator first.
We did not find in the Act itself how a short membership period is treated when the basic amount is worked out for disability and survivor pensions, and we did not read the Enforcement Decree. If you became disabled young with only a few years of membership, check the basic amount the NPS gives you.
Read next
- Who qualifies and the determination date — our National Pension disability pension page.
- Who counts as a dependant, and how much — National Pension dependant addition.
- If a member dies — National Pension survivor pension calculator · National Pension death lump sum calculator.
- Old-age pension estimate — National Pension calculator.
Checklist
- ☐ Your age and contribution record at the first examination (the Art. 67(1) conditions)
- ☐ The disability grade (1 to 4) decided by the NPS
- ☐ The basic pension amount (yearly) from the NPS
- ☐ A spouse, children under 19 and parents aged 60+ (61–65 depending on year of birth) who depend on you
- ☐ Whether the same accident entitles you to an industrial accident or Labor Standards Act disability benefit
Questions that remain
If I get an industrial accident disability benefit, do I lose the National Pension disability pension?
You do not lose it; you get half. Art. 113 pays one half of the Art. 68 disability pension when the same cause entitles you to a benefit such as the Art. 57 disability benefit under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act.
Is the grade 4 lump sum halved too?
Art. 113 speaks of one half of “the disability pension under Art. 68”, and the grade 4 lump sum is in Art. 68 (paragraph 2). The same article, however, addresses “a recipient of a disability pension or survivor pension”, so we do not decide from the text alone whether it reaches the lump sum. For grade 4 the calculator shows the amount before any cut and only says to ask the NPS.
When I reach old-age pension age, do I get both?
Under Art. 56(1), when you are entitled to two or more benefits you choose one and the other is suspended. Compare this calculator with your old-age estimate and pick the larger.
Does my grade change after 60?
Art. 70(4) says that grade changes on NPS review (paragraph 1) and on your own request (paragraph 2) do not apply to pensioners aged 60 or over.
On an NPS review, which date fixes the degree of disability?
Art. 70(3) bases the degree on the date of full recovery; if there is no recovery by then, an NPS review (paragraph 1) uses the “date set by Presidential Decree” and your own request (paragraph 2) uses the date you asked. Art. 46-2 of the Enforcement Decree sets three such dates: (1) when the review cycle chosen by the NPS arrives — the last day of that month; (2) when the cycle arrived, payment was suspended under Art. 86(1) for not sending records, and you then send them — the day you send them; (3) when you claim the disability pension in a month after the month of the determination date (Art. 67(2)) — the day you claim. Grading standards are in Appendix 2 under Decree Art. 46(1), the NPS assesses the degree (paragraph 2), and the Minister of Health and Welfare publishes the assessment standards (paragraph 4).
Sources
- Korean Law Information Center — National Pension Act Arts. 52, 56, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71 and 113 — original text (current version, in force 20 October 2026, Act No. 22096; checked 12 November 2026). Disability pension conditions and the determination date, amounts by grade (800, 600 and 2,250 per 1,000), combining and changing grades, the 67-month treatment of the lump sum, the dependant addition, choosing between benefits, and the offset against benefits under other laws (one half).
- Korean Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the National Pension Act Arts. 46 and 46-2, National Pension Act Art. 117, National Treasury Management Act Art. 47(1) — Decree text (current version, in force 1 January 2026, Presidential Decree No. 35602) · Treasury Act text (current version, in force 2 January 2026, Act No. 21065); checked 12 November 2026. Grading standards (Appendix 2), assessment and published standards, the three dates for Art. 70(3)1, amounts below 10 won.
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — National Pension Act Addenda (Act No. 8541) Art. 8; Act No. 5623 version Art. 48 — text (addenda on the current text and the 31 December 1998 version, checked 13 November 2026). The 1–5 year rise by year of birth covers old Art. 48(1) item 3 (parents 60 or over for the additional pension).
- Not read. The detail of the Appendix 2 grading standards and the Minister’s published assessment standards, Art. 67(2) item 3 onward, the whole of the Art. 51 basic-amount formula and how membership is counted for disability pensions, Art. 52-2 (when a child or parent counts as disabled), the provisions of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, Labor Standards Act, Seafarers’ Act and fishing vessel crew act, any NPS interpretation of whether Art. 113 reaches the grade 4 lump sum, and whether the NPS drops the remainder on the yearly or the monthly figure (practice).
- What we added. Converting 800, 600 and 2,250 per 1,000 to 80%, 60% and 225%, the five examples on a ₩12,000,000 yearly basic amount, the monthly figure as the yearly amount ÷ 12 with fractions dropped, the reading that the Art. 113 half applies to the amount including the dependant addition, and the ₩26,800,000 Art. 71 arithmetic.
We checked the calculator script against a separate Python version of the same arithmetic in 1,920 cases for each of the Korean and English pages, with no mismatches.
Where to check further
- National Pension Service — “Benefit calculation” (in Korean) — guidance page (checked 12 November 2026). Dependant addition for January–December 2026: ₩306,630 a year for a spouse, ₩204,360 a year per child or parent, and the parent age condition raised by year of birth.
- National Pension Service — your basic pension amount, the disability review and your grade.
- Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service — whether you can receive an industrial accident disability benefit.
Written on 12 November 2026. The provisions are quoted from the original; the readings and arithmetic are ours.
