Retirement questions change with age. In your twenties and thirties: how do I build up National Pension years? While working: what do I do with a retirement pension and an IRP? On leaving: where does severance go, and what happens to health insurance? In your sixties: when do I start drawing? And once it starts: what must I report? We read the statutes for each question and wrote one guide at a time; this page links 45 of them. It is a map of those guides, in the order you meet them.
1. Years make the pension. Childbirth, military service and unemployment credits add months, and back-payment fills missing ones up to 119 months.
2. There is a ten-year gap between 55 and 65. Workplace and private pensions open at 55, the National Pension at 65, so the income and health insurance in between need a plan.
3. When you claim changes the size. The same record pays 70% five years early and 136% five years deferred. Private pension withdrawals above 15 million won a year are taxed in full as global income.
1. When you are young — building up years
| Question | The figure to know | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| The basic shape | Replacement rate 43%; the 9.5% contribution rate applies from 1 January 2026 | The 43% replacement rate |
| Having a child | First child 12 months; from 2027, 27 months for two, then 18 each | Childbirth credit calculator |
| Military service | Now 6 months or more and up to 12; the whole period for discharges from 1 January 2027 | Military service credit checker |
| A first contribution for the young | From 2027, ages 18 to under 27, paid once by the state | Youth first contribution support |
| Paying without an income | Voluntary membership at 18–60 if not compulsorily covered; lost after 6 months of arrears | Voluntary membership |
| While on jobseeker benefit | 1 month per 30 benefit days, up to 1 year, up to three-quarters of the contribution paid; apply by the 15th of the next month | Unemployment credit calculator |
2. Filling the gaps
| Question | The figure to know | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Pausing payments | 7 grounds such as unemployment, leave, military service and school; the period is not counted | Contribution exemption |
| Paying back later | Under 10 years, the application-month contribution × months — 119 months at most | Back payment (chunap) · Six ways to raise a pension |
| Employer deducted but did not pay | 1/2 of the period counted, 0 from the month after the arrears notice, all if you pay directly | Unpaid employer contributions |
| Paying late | Due the 10th of the next month; the late charge reaches 2% at 30 days and 5% at 210 days | Deadline and late charge |
3. While working — workplace and private pensions
| Question | The figure to know | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| When the three tiers open | Workplace and private at 55, National Pension at 65 — a ten-year gap | The three pension tiers |
| DB or DC | Taking it as a pension cuts retirement income tax by 30% through year 10 and 40% from year 11 | DB vs DC |
| Employer DC contribution | At least 1/12 of annual pay — 3,000,000 won on 36 million; 10% late interest, 20% after 14 days from leaving | DC contribution calculator |
| Pension savings and IRP tax credit | Fill 9 million won and get 1,485,000 or 1,188,000 won back, local tax included | Pension savings & IRP credit |
| Taking money out early | Some grounds allow a pledge but not a withdrawal — loan repayment only for a shutdown or disaster loan three months or more in arrears | Early withdrawal |
4. When you leave work
| Question | The figure to know | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement age | Anything below 60 counts as 60; rehiring is a duty to try | Retirement age 60 |
| Re-employment support | Employers of 1,000+, age 50+, 1 year insured: mandatory from 3 years before leaving | Re-employment support checker |
| Where severance goes | Into an IRP within 14 days, with five exceptions including leaving after 55 | Severance to an IRP |
| Health insurance | Voluntary continuation is exactly double — 325,392 won a month on a 4 million won salary; compare it with regional enrolment | Health insurance after retiring |
| Losing a job after 65 | Not covered for jobs started after 65; covered if insured before 65 and kept on | Unemployment benefit after 65 |
5. The gap and starting to draw
| Question | The figure to know | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Bridging the gap | The unemployment credit pays 75% of the contribution; deferral adds 0.6% a month (7.2% a year) | Bridging the pension gap |
| Paying on after 60 | Apply to continue until 65; not after taking a lump-sum refund | Continuing after 60 |
| Early or deferred | The same person gets 70% five years early, 136% five years late | Early vs deferred |
| Working while drawing | From 17 June 2026, no reduction below 2 million won of excess income | Working while on the pension |
| Short of 10 years | At 60, contributions plus interest come back — but then no voluntary extension | Lump-sum refund |
| Drawing private pensions | Above 15 million won a year, the whole amount, not the excess, is taxed as global income | The art of drawing down |
| Basic Pension | Standard amount 349,700 won a month; not automatic; couples are cut 20% | Basic Pension 2026 |
| A pension from your home | Initial fee 1.0% of the home's value, 0.95% a year — no automatic spousal succession under the mortgage method | Housing Pension |
6. While you draw
| Question | The figure to know | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Payment day | The 25th, from the month after the right arises to the month it ends | Payment day and unpaid benefits |
| National Pension reports | A death within 1 month of learning of it; late-reported payments recovered with interest | Reporting duties |
| Basic Pension reports | Income, assets or marriage changes within 30 days; object within 90 days; 5-year prescription | Duties on the Basic Pension |
| Dependants | In 2026, 306,630 won for a spouse and 204,360 per child or parent; lost at 19 or with their own pension | Dependants' addition |
| Seizure | The entitlement cannot be seized; paid pension protected up to 2.5 million won; new living-expense accounts | Protection from seizure |
| When care is needed | Grade 1 from 95 points; co-payment 15% at home, 20% in facilities | Long-term care grades |
| Senior discounts at 65 | Subways, palaces and museums free; Saemaeul and Mugunghwa 30%; the KTX is not in the law | Senior discounts |
7. Divorce, death, disability and appeals
| Situation | The figure to know | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce or bereavement | A 1M old-age and 0.5M survivor pension pay 1.15M — only 30% of the survivor pension is added; the divided pension's five years do not start at divorce | Divided and survivor pensions |
| No survivor qualifies | A death lump sum to siblings and cousins, capped at 4 times monthly income | Death lump sum |
| A lasting disability | 100%, 80% and 60% for grades 1–3; a 225% lump sum for grade 4 | Disability pension |
| A wrong decision | Request review within 90 days of learning of it and 180 of the decision; decided in 60 days | Challenging a decision |
| A long-forgotten claim | 5 years to claim benefits, 10 for a lump-sum refund; no running while fully suspended | Time limits |
Three situations
You are in your thirties and it feels far away. Start with your years. Check whether military or childbirth credits apply, whether you claimed the unemployment credit if you were on jobseeker benefit, and whether missing periods can be paid back. Pension savings and an IRP earn a tax credit on up to 9 million won.
You are in your late fifties and leaving is in sight. Severance goes into an IRP within 14 days (leaving after 55 is an exception). Put voluntary continuation and the regional health insurance premium side by side, and decide what you will live on from 55 to 65.
You are in your early sixties and choosing when to claim. Claiming early shrinks it to as little as 70%; deferring raises it to as much as 136%. If you keep working, check whether excess income passes 2 million won, and spread private pension withdrawals so they stay within 15 million won a year.
Checklist
- ☐ Check your National Pension years (credits, exemptions, back payment)
- ☐ After jobseeker benefit, apply for the unemployment credit by the 15th of the next month
- ☐ Pension savings and IRP tax credit: 9 million won
- ☐ On leaving: severance into an IRP within 14 days; compare health insurance
- ☐ Claim timing: 70% early to 136% deferred
- ☐ Private pensions: the 15 million won line
- ☐ While drawing: report changes within 30 days, a death within 1 month
Questions that remain
Do the same rules apply to foreigners?
Coverage is automatic, but the lump-sum refund applies in only three cases, and a social security agreement comes first where one exists. See Foreigners and the National Pension.
How much do I need a month?
The National Pension Research Institute's adequate cost is 1.976M won a month for one person and 2.981M for a couple. The working is in How much for retirement, and what to do at each age is in Retirement prep by age.
What about my own pension amount?
This page maps the rules. For a rough size, use the National Pension estimator; for a figure from your own record, ask the National Pension Service.
Sources
- Our guides linked above — each records the text it read (National Pension Act, Basic Pension Act, Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, Aged Employment Act, Income Tax Act, Long-Term Care Insurance Act, Welfare of Older Persons Act and others) and the date we checked it. The figures on this page come from those guides.
- Not read here. Civil servant, private school and military pensions; individual pension estimates.
- What we added. The order of the stages and the three situations.
Where to check further
- The National Pension Service, the National Health Insurance Service and your local community centre (Basic Pension) — your record, premiums and applications.
Written 26 October 2026. The figures come from the linked guides; the grouping is ours.
