Starting to draw Korea’s National Pension is not the end of it. While it is paid there are things to report, and not reporting can mean payment stops, or has to be paid back later. When a pensioner dies, the family must report it within 1 month. We read Articles 121, 86 and 57 of the National Pension Act in the original.
1. A duty to report. Persons entitled to and receiving benefits must report matters relating to the creation, change, extinction or suspension of the right and to the calculation and payment of benefits (Article 121(1)).
2. A death within 1 month. The person with the duty to report must tell the Service within 1 month of learning of the death, unless the death was registered within that time (Article 121(2)).
3. If not. Failing to report without just cause can suspend payment (Article 86(1)4), and benefit wrongly received through late reporting is recovered with interest (Article 57).
What is reported — Article 121
- Who — persons entitled to benefits and persons receiving them.
- What — matters relating to the creation, change, extinction or suspension of the right and the calculation and payment of benefits.
- How — to the Service, as prescribed by Ministry ordinance.
Exactly which events are reportable is in the Ministry ordinance, which we did not read this time. From provisions we covered earlier, events that change the amount include a change in the circumstances of a spouse, child or parent counted for the dependants’ addition (dependants’ addition) and the grounds on which a survivor’s pension ends (split and survivor pensions). Linking those to reporting is our own connection.
On a death — Article 121(2)
| Item | Text | Our reading |
|---|---|---|
| Who | The person with the duty to report under Article 85 of the Act on Registration of Family Relations | The same person who must register the death |
| By when | Within 1 month of learning of the death | From learning of it, not from the date of death |
| Exception | Not required where the death was registered under that Act within the 1 month | Registering the death on time removes the separate report |
The deadline and method for registering a death are in birth and death report deadlines. The pension is paid up to the month the right ends, and any unpaid benefit is claimed by the family — see payment day and unpaid benefits.
Four grounds on which payment may be suspended — Article 86
| Item | Ground (statute) | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not complying, without just cause, with the Service’s request for documents or materials | Persons entitled to benefits |
| 2 | Not complying, without just cause, with the Service’s request for a medical examination or verification | Disability or survivor pension |
| 3 | Hindering recovery by not following medical care instructions, intentionally, by gross negligence or without just cause | Disability pension |
| 4 | Not making the report under Article 121(1), without just cause | Persons entitled to benefits |
- The text says payment of all or part of the benefit may be suspended — a power, not an automatic stop.
- Before suspending, payment may be temporarily withheld as prescribed by Presidential Decree ((2)).
- All four items carry “without just cause” or “intentionally or by gross negligence”.
What happens to suspended benefit once the ground is cleared is not in this provision, and we did not check it this time. The rule on the period — no payment from the month after a ground for suspension arises until the month it ceases — is in Article 54.
Wrongly paid benefit is recovered — Article 57
The Service must recover the amount where the recipient:
- received benefit by false or other improper means (item 1);
- was wrongly paid because a person with the duty under Article 121 did not report, or reported late (item 2);
- was paid a survivor pension or the like on a presumed death and the person was later confirmed alive (item 3);
- is a family member who had lost the right to inherit (item 4); or
- was wrongly paid for any other reason (item 5).
For items 1, 2 and 4, interest set by Presidential Decree is added, unless the person liable is not at fault ((2)). Amounts below a threshold set by Decree are not recovered (proviso to (1)).
We read this as: if the family reports a death late and the pension keeps arriving, that falls under item 2, must be returned, and may carry interest. The interest rate and the threshold are in the Decree, which we did not read this time.
Checklist
- ☐ Tell the Service when circumstances affecting the amount change, such as dependants or marital status
- ☐ Respond in time when the Service asks for documents or an examination
- ☐ On a pensioner’s death, register it (or report to the Service) within 1 month of learning of it
- ☐ Check the account for pension paid in after the death
Questions that remain
Must a change of address or bank account be reported?
Article 121(1) speaks broadly of matters relating to the calculation and payment of benefits. What that includes is in the ordinance, which we did not read — asking the National Pension Service (1355 in Korea) is quickest.
Can a pension be seized?
That is separate from suspension and recovery. Protection of the right is in pension seizure protection.
Sources
- National Pension Act [Act No. 21203, partially amended 16 December 2025] — original text (checked 5 October 2026). Article 121(1) and (2) (within 1 month); Article 86(1) (items 1 to 4) and (2); Article 57(1) (items 1 to 5; proviso) and (2) (interest; Article 57 was read on 2 October).
- Not read. The Ministry ordinance on reportable matters; the Decree on temporary withholding, the interest rate and the recovery threshold; Articles 120 and 122.
- Our own connections. Linking the dependants’ addition and the ending of a survivor pension to reporting, and the reading on pension paid after a death.
Where to check further
- The scheme as a whole — National Pension basics.
- What to report and which documents in your case — the National Pension Service (1355 in Korea).
Written on 5 October 2026. The provisions are as published by the Korea Law Information Center; the reading is ours.
