Someone who paid into Korea’s National Pension for a few years and then became a civil servant, or who served as a teacher or soldier before moving to a company, may not qualify for a pension on either side. The Act on the Linkage between the National Pension and Occupational Pensions joins National Pension membership with service under the civil service, private school staff, military and special post office pensions: with a linked period of 10 years (20 if military service is included) and age 65, you get a linked old-age pension and a linked retirement pension (Art. 10(1)). People born in 1968 or earlier qualify at 60–64 under the Addendum. The checker below tells you whether you meet the threshold and from what age.
1. National Pension + occupational pension = 10 years linked (20 with military service) for a linked pension (Art. 10).
2. Age 65, or 60–64 if born in 1968 or earlier (Addendum Art. 3), paid from the following month (Art. 16(3)).
3. You must apply — when you join or leave the occupational scheme, before your benefit rights lapse (Art. 8). If you fall short, you get lump sums with interest (Art. 19).
Checker
Updates as you type. National Pension months exclude continued voluntary membership and the military-service and childbirth credits (Art. 7(1) item 1). The occupational-pension amount is set by that pension’s own law and is not calculated here.
What gets joined — Art. 7
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| National Pension (1) item 1 | Membership under the National Pension Act, excluding periods under its Arts. 13, 18 and 19 | Art. 13 continued voluntary membership, Art. 18 military service credit, Art. 19 childbirth credit |
| Civil service (item 2) | Service under the Government Employees Pension Act Art. 25 | — |
| Private school staff (item 3) | Service under the Teachers’ Pension Act Art. 31 | — |
| Military (item 4) | Service under the Military Pension Act Art. 5 | Raises the threshold to 20 years |
| Special post offices (item 5) | Service under the Special Post Office Act Art. 34 | — |
| Overlap (2) | Overlapping periods are left out; where contributions were paid twice they count when amounts are worked out | The checker’s overlap field |
Age — the Addendum’s birth-year table
| Born | Age for linked benefits | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 or earlier | 60 | — |
| 1953–1956 | 61 | — |
| 1957–1960 | 62 | — |
| 1961–1964 | 63 | — |
| 1965–1968 | 64 | — |
| 1969 or later | 65 (Art. 10) | Not in the Addendum, so the main text’s 65 (our reading) |
The proviso to Addendum (Act No. 9431, 6 February 2009) Article 3 adds that where an occupational pension’s own retirement-pension age is higher, the linked retirement pension arises at that age. Linked benefits are paid from the month after the event until the month the right ends (Art. 16(3)). If you pass 65 and reach 10 years by repaying a refund or making up contributions, you can be paid from then (Art. 10(2)).
How much — Arts. 11 and 12
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| National Pension side (Art. 11 item 1) | If you qualify for the old-age pension under the National Pension Act, that amount | National Pension alone reaches 10 years |
| National Pension side (Art. 11 item 2) | Under 10 years: basic pension amount × (membership ÷ 20), including continued voluntary membership, part-years at 1/12 per month | 6 years gives 6/20 = 30% (our sum) |
| Occupational side (Art. 12) | If you qualify for the occupational retirement pension, that amount; otherwise that Act’s formula applied to your service | Not calculated here |
| Both qualify (Art. 3(2)) | If you become entitled to both pensions in your own right, each Act applies | No linkage needed |
Applying — Art. 8
You must apply to the body that ran your own pension, when you become an occupational member (if you have not taken National Pension benefits or deferred them) or when you leave (if you have not taken the retirement benefit), and before your benefit rights lapse. If you already took a retirement lump sum (not a pension), you may repay it and apply (para. 2); not paying the repayment for 6 months or more counts as withdrawing, with notice 30 days beforehand (para. 4). Applying interrupts the limitation period for benefits (Art. 8-3). The right to linked benefits lapses after 5 years unused (Art. 25).
Three cases — our examples
| Case (our example) | Result | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Born 1970, National Pension 6 years (72 months) + civil service 7 years (84 months) | 156 months = 13 years → from 65 (2035) | National Pension part: 72/240 = 30% of the basic amount |
| Born 1966, National Pension 4 years + civil service 5 years | 108 months = 9 years → 12 months short | Lump sums plus interest at 64 (2030), unless repayments or make-up contributions close the gap |
| Born 1975, military 8 years + National Pension 9 years | 204 months = 17 years; military means 20 years, so 36 months short | Without military service the same 17 years would qualify |
If you fall short — Art. 19
If an applicant reaches 65 (or the Addendum age) with less than 10 years linked (20 with military), or loses Korean nationality or emigrates in that state, the refund lump sum or retirement lump sum is paid under each Act, plus interest set by Presidential Decree. If in the meantime a right to the ordinary old-age or occupational pension arises, those Acts apply. The National Pension refund is covered in National Pension lump-sum refund, and repaying a refund in refund repayment calculator.
Checklist
- ☐ Both periods in months
- ☐ Any months that overlap
- ☐ Military service means a 20-year threshold
- ☐ A lump sum already taken can be repaid
- ☐ Your birth-year age, paid from the next month
Questions that remain
Is it paid as one combined pension?
The Act sets the National Pension part (linked old-age pension) and the occupational part (linked retirement pension) separately (Arts. 11–12). You claim at the body you belonged to, which tells the others (Art. 16(1)).
Does the military service credit count?
Art. 7(1) item 1 excludes periods credited under National Pension Act Art. 18 (military service).
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Act on the Linkage between the National Pension and Occupational Pensions Arts. 2, 3, 7–12, 16, 19, 25; Addendum (No. 9431) Arts. 2–3 — source (current text, effective 26 May 2026, Act No. 21688; checked 2 November 2026). Linked periods and overlap, when to apply, repayment, 6-month withdrawal and 30-day notice, limitation, entitlement (10 years, 20 with military, 65), linked old-age amount (basic amount × membership/20), linked retirement amount, payment from the next month, lump sums with interest, 5-year limitation, birth-year ages.
- Korean law database — National Pension Act Arts. 13, 18, 19 (titles) — source (current text, effective 20 October 2026, Act No. 22096; checked 2 November 2026). The continued voluntary, military and childbirth periods excluded from linkage.
- Not read. Each occupational pension Act (its own requirements, ages and formula), the Decree (interest rate, repayments), the Rule (forms).
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- The National Pension Service and the civil service, teachers’ and military pension bodies — your own records and the linkage application.
Written on 2 November 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
