How much is a split pension — a share of a former spouse’s Korean National Pension after divorce — and by when must you claim it? Article 64(1) of the National Pension Act gives a split pension to someone whose marriage period is 5 years or more, who has divorced, whose former spouse holds an old-age pension entitlement, and who has reached age 60 (after the birth-year addition). Article 64(2) sets the amount as the part of the former spouse’s old-age pension (excluding the dependant pension) for the marriage period, divided equally, and Article 64(3) requires a claim within 5 years of meeting all the requirements. Enter the monthly pension, insured period, the marriage months within it and three dates (your birth date, the divorce date, the day the former spouse became entitled), and the calculator shows an estimated amount, the first payment month, the claim deadline and the advance-claim deadline.
1. A marriage period of 5 years or more — the marriage within the spouse’s insured period, excluding time with no real marital relationship due to separation, leaving home and the like (Art. 64(1)).
2. Amount = half of the marriage-period share (Art. 64(2)). A split rate separately decided under the Civil Act takes precedence (Art. 64-2(1)).
3. Deadlines — claim within 5 years of meeting every requirement (Art. 64(3)); if you divorced before your pension age you can claim in advance within 3 years of the divorce (Art. 64-3(2)).
Calculator
Results update as you type. Neither the Act nor the Enforcement Decree gives a formula for “the pension for the marriage period”, so we estimate it pro rata to the insured period — the National Pension Service sets the real figure. Fractions of a won are dropped. The pension age follows the birth-year addition in Supp. Art. 8, and deadlines are counted under Civil Act Arts. 157 and 160 (our reading).
Four articles — text
| Provision | What the text says | Points to note (our gloss) |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 64(1) | A person whose marriage period (the marriage within the spouse’s insured period, excluding periods with no real marital relationship due to separation, leaving home and the like) is 5 years or more and who meets all of: 1. divorced from the spouse; 2. the former spouse is an old-age pension holder; 3. has turned 60 — may receive a split pension from then for life. | Only marriage overlapping their insured period counts. Age 60 takes the supplementary addition |
| Art. 64(2)(3) | The split pension is the part of the former spouse’s old-age pension (excluding the dependant pension) for the marriage period, divided equally. / It must be claimed within 5 years of meeting all the requirements. | No formula for “the pension for the marriage period” in the text |
| Art. 64-2 | Notwithstanding Art. 64(2), where the division of the pension has been separately decided under Civil Act Art. 839-2 or 843, that decision applies; the split rate must be reported to the Service. | An agreement or court ruling on property division can set a rate other than 50% |
| Art. 64-3 | If you divorce before reaching age 60, you may claim in advance from when the divorce takes effect … within 3 years; an advance claim and its withdrawal are allowed once only. Even after an advance claim, payment starts when all requirements are met. | Claiming early doesn’t bring the money forward |
Periods removed from the marriage — Enforcement Decree Art. 45-2
- Removed (1) — a disappearance period under Civil Act Art. 27(1), and a period registered as whereabouts unknown under Resident Registration Act Art. 20(6).
- Overriding these (2) — a period the divorcing parties agreed had no real marital relationship, or one recognised as such by a court ruling.
- Report (3) — an old-age or split pension holder with such a period must report it to the Service.
Enter the marriage months after removing these periods. Ten years (120 months) of marriage with two years of agreed separation becomes 96 months; the 5-year threshold is 60 months (our example).
“The pension for the marriage period” — our estimate
Article 64(2) only says to divide “the pension for the marriage period” equally, and Enforcement Decree Article 45-2 only lists periods to remove. Neither says how that pension is computed. So the calculator estimates the share as the monthly pension × (marriage months ÷ total insured months). A real old-age pension isn’t exactly proportional to time, because income and the formula differ across periods, so treat it as a rough guide. Our civil servant split pension calculator uses the same pro-rata estimate for the same reason.
Four examples — ours
| Example (ours) | Split pension a month | Points to note (our gloss) |
|---|---|---|
| Pension 1,200,000 won, 120 marriage months out of 300 insured | 240,000 won | Half of 1,200,000 × 120/300 = 480,000 |
| Same, with a 40% split rate separately decided | 192,000 won | 480,000 × 40% (our reading) |
| Same, but 59 marriage months after separation | 0 won | Under 5 years (60 months) — no entitlement |
| Pension 900,000 won, all 240 insured months in the marriage | 450,000 won | Half of the 900,000 share |
Three dates — first payment, 5 years, 3 years
With the calculator’s defaults, someone born on 20 May 1968 has a pension age of 60 + 4 = 64, reached on 20 May 2032. With a divorce on 30 November 2026 and the former spouse entitled from 10 January 2029, the latest of the three is your age (2032-05-20), so every requirement is met that day and, under Article 54(1), payment starts with the June 2032 instalment. The claim deadline is 5 years from then, 2037-05-20; and since the divorce came before your pension age, an advance claim is possible until 2029-11-30, 3 years from the divorce (our sum). The deadlines are counted under Civil Act Article 157 (the first day isn’t counted) and Article 160 (calendar computation), as in our legal period calculator.
Your own pension and survivor pensions — Article 65
- With your own old-age pension — if a split pension holder becomes entitled to an old-age pension, the two are paid together (Art. 65(4)).
- What happens to the former spouse — once you hold the entitlement, the former spouse’s pension ending or being suspended doesn’t affect the split pension (Art. 65(1)).
- Two or more split pensions are added together; with another benefit (other than an old-age pension) you choose one (Art. 65(2)).
- Survivor pension — a split pension holder isn’t treated as an old-age pension holder when a survivor pension is paid (Art. 65(3)). Survivor ranking is in our split and survivor pensions guide.
When the rules apply — two supplementary provisions
The current Article 64(1) and (4), which remove separation periods, apply under Supplementary Article 2 of Act No. 15267 (19 December 2017) where a split-pension payment reason first arises on or after 29 December 2016. For reasons arising from 29 December 2016 to 19 June 2018, they apply only where the time to sue over the amount change hadn’t passed or a judgment hadn’t become final, and then from benefits for 30 May 2024 onwards (amended 20 December 2024). The separate rate (Art. 64-2) and advance claim (Art. 64-3) apply under Supplementary Article 2 of Act No. 13642 (29 December 2015) to cases first arising, or advance claims first made, after they came into force.
Checklist
- ☐ Marriage within their insured period of 60 months or more, after removing separation etc.
- ☐ Was a pension split rate set in the property division — if so, report it to the Service
- ☐ Check your pension age (61–65 by birth year) — start age calculator
- ☐ Claim within 5 years of meeting all three requirements
- ☐ Divorced before your pension age: an advance claim within 3 years of the divorce (once)
Questions that remain
What if the former spouse isn’t drawing a pension yet?
Article 64(1)2 requires that they “be an old-age pension holder”. Until they become entitled that requirement isn’t met, so in the calculator the day all requirements are met is set by their entitlement date. Articles 64 to 65, which we read, have no sentence on a former spouse who has applied to defer, so we don’t decide that case.
Does remarriage end a split pension?
Article 64(1) pays it “for life”, and Articles 64 to 65 contain no sentence ending it on remarriage. That is a different rule from the survivor pension.
Can a civil service pension be split too?
The Civil Service Pension Act has its own split pension — see our civil servant split pension calculator; for combining the two systems see the public pension linkage checker.
By when must a different ratio be set under the Civil Act?
Civil Act Art. 839-2, which Art. 64-2 points to, lets a spouse divorced by agreement claim a division of property (1); if they cannot agree, the family court sets the amount and method, weighing the property built up together and other circumstances (2). The claim lapses 2 years after the divorce (3). Art. 843 applies the same to divorce by court (checked 9 November 2026). So a ratio other than 50% reads as needing to be fixed by agreement or court within 2 years of the divorce — counted separately from the 5-year window to claim the split pension once all conditions are met (Art. 64(3)) (our reading).
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — National Pension Act — text (current version, in force 20 Oct 2026, Act No. 22096; checked 9 November 2026). Art. 54(1), Art. 64 (split pension holders), Art. 64-2 (special rule on payment), Art. 64-3 (special rule on claims), Art. 65 (relation to the old-age pension), Supp. Provisions of Act No. 8541 Art. 8, Act No. 13642 Art. 2, Act No. 15267 Art. 2.
- Korea Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the National Pension Act — text (in force 1 Jan 2026, Presidential Decree No. 35602; checked 9 November 2026). Art. 45-2 (marriage periods excluded).
- Korea Law Information Center — Civil Act — text (in force 17 Mar 2026, Act No. 21454; checked 9 November 2026). Arts. 157, 158, 160.
- Korean law database — Civil Act Arts. 839-2 and 843 — source (in force 17 Mar 2026, Act No. 21454; checked 9 November 2026). Property division claim, family court decision, 2 years from divorce, applied to divorce by court.
- Not read. The Enforcement Rule’s reporting and advance-claim procedure, the Constitutional Court decisions (29 Dec 2016, 30 May 2024), how the Service actually computes the share.
- What we added. The pro-rata estimate, four examples, the date sums, the calculator.
Where to check further
- National Pension Service — estimated split pension, recognition of the marriage period, reporting a split rate, advance claims.
- Family court or a lawyer — when setting a pension split rate in property division.
Written on 9 November 2026. The content follows the original texts; the glosses are ours.
