When someone insured under Korea’s National Pension, or already drawing it, dies, the family they supported gets a survivor’s pension. Article 74 of the National Pension Act sets it, by the deceased’s years insured, at 400/1000 of the basic pension amount for under 10 years, 500/1000 for 10 to under 20 and 600/1000 for 20 or more, plus the dependants’ addition. If the deceased was already drawing an old-age pension, the survivor’s pension can’t exceed it. A survivor who also has their own pension picks one under Article 56; if the one not chosen is the survivor’s pension, 30/100 of it is added. The calculator below does all three at once.
1. 40% for under 10 years insured, 50% under 20, 60% for 20 or more, plus the dependants’ addition (Art. 74).
2. If the deceased was drawing an old-age pension, the survivor’s pension can’t exceed it (proviso to Art. 74).
3. Overlap with your own pension means choosing one — leaving the survivor’s pension adds 30% of it to the one chosen (Art. 56(2)1).
Calculator
Updates as you type. Amount = basic pension × 40% (under 10 years), 50% (10 to under 20) or 60% (20+) + the dependants’ addition, which uses the 2026 annual amounts (306,630 won for a spouse, 204,360 won per child or parent) divided by 12. If the deceased was drawing an old-age pension, the survivor’s pension can’t exceed it. Won amounts are rounded down (our method). Enter the basic pension from the National Pension Service; we don’t compute it.
Whose death triggers it — Art. 72
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Item 1 | An old-age pension recipient | Already drawing a pension |
| Item 2 | Someone insured for 10 years or more | |
| Item 3 | Someone who paid contributions for a third or more of the period they should have been insured | (2): not paid if death falls in an excluded, emigration or lost-nationality period |
| Item 4 | Someone who paid for 3 years or more in the 5 years before death, unless arrears over the whole period reach 3 years | Same (2) limit as item 3 |
| Item 5 | A disability pension recipient of grade 2 or higher |
Who gets it, in what order — Art. 73
Survivors are people the deceased supported at death, in this order: (1) spouse; (2) children under 25 or disabled; (3) parents (including the spouse’s) aged 60+ or disabled; (4) grandchildren under 19 or disabled; (5) grandparents (including the spouse’s) aged 60+ or disabled. Only the highest-ranked survivor is paid; if the spouse’s right ends through death or remarriage, or is suspended under Article 76, it passes to the children. Survivors of equal rank share it equally. More on the order is in national pension death lump sum.
The amount — Art. 74 and the dependants’ addition (Art. 52)
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 10 years (item 1) | 400/1000 of the basic pension | 400,000 won on a 1 million won basic pension (our sum) |
| 10 to under 20 (item 2) | 500/1000 | 500,000 won |
| 20 or more (item 3) | 600/1000 | 600,000 won |
| Added | The dependants’ addition, judged on the deceased (Art. 52(1)). Statutory 150,000 won a year for a spouse, 100,000 per child or parent, indexed yearly | 2026: 306,630 won a year for a spouse, 204,360 won per child or parent |
| Cap (proviso) | If an old-age pension recipient dies, it can’t exceed the old-age pension they received |
The 2026 dependants’ amounts are the National Pension Service figures we checked in dependants’ addition; monthly they come to 25,552 won for a spouse and 17,030 won per child or parent (rounded down, our sum). The basic pension amount itself comes from the Article 51 formula (the all-member average income and your own), so the calculator asks you to enter it. Whether the survivor (say, the spouse) counts as a dependant is for the Service to decide; the calculator counts what you enter (our method).
Three sums — our example
| Situation (our example) | Survivor’s pension (monthly) | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pension 1 million won, 15 years, 1 dependent child | 500,000 + 17,030 = 517,030 won | 50% rate |
| Deceased drew 500,000 won old-age pension (10 years); basic pension 1 million; 1 child | 517,030 → capped at 500,000 won | Proviso to Art. 74 |
| First case, survivor has an 800,000 won old-age pension | 800,000 + 155,109 = 955,109 won (own pension chosen) | The survivor’s pension alone: 517,030 won |
All three are our examples; the Service’s actual amount can differ with the basic pension, dependant recognition and rounding to 10 won. A 1.2 million won basic pension with 25 years gives 720,000 won, 1 million with 8 years gives 400,000 won (no dependants, our sum).
When it ends or pauses — Arts. 75–76
The right ends when the recipient dies, a spouse remarries, a child or grandchild’s adoption is dissolved, or a non-disabled child turns 25 or grandchild 19 (Art. 75(1)). A spouse is paid for 3 years and then suspended until 55, unless disabled, supporting a child under 25 or disabled, or not working in a job with the income set by decree (Art. 76(1)). The birth-year additions to 55 are in split and survivor’s pensions.
Overlap with your own pension — Art. 56
When two or more benefit rights arise under the Act, the recipient chooses one and the rest are suspended (1). If the one not chosen is a survivor’s pension (unless a refund lump sum was chosen), 30/100 of it is added to the one chosen (2)1. If your own old-age pension is larger, “old-age pension + 30%” usually wins; if smaller, compare (our note). The calculator shows both side by side.
Checklist
- ☐ Which of Art. 72 items 1–5 the deceased fits
- ☐ The deceased’s years insured — the 10 and 20-year lines
- ☐ If they were drawing a pension, that amount (the cap)
- ☐ The survivor’s own old-age pension, for the Art. 56 choice
- ☐ For a spouse, whether a 3-year suspension exception applies
Questions that remain
Is there nothing under 10 years insured?
There is. Besides 10 years (item 2), Article 72 covers paying for a third of the period (item 3) and 3 of the last 5 years (item 4). The rate is 400/1000.
Where do I see my own pension estimate?
See national pension calculator.
Can it come back after remarriage?
Article 75(1)2 ends a spouse’s right on remarriage, and the articles we read have no rule restoring it.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — National Pension Act Arts. 52, 56, 72–76 — source (current text, effective 20 October 2026, Act No. 22096; checked 28 October 2026). Art. 52 dependants’ addition (judged on the deceased; 150,000/100,000 won), Art. 56 choice and the 30% addition, Art. 72 items 1–5 and (2), Art. 73 survivors, order and sharing, Art. 74 40/50/60% and the cap, Art. 75 ending, Art. 76 suspension.
- National Pension Service figures (2026 dependants’ addition) — 306,630 won a year for a spouse, 204,360 won per child or parent, as checked on 8 October 2026 in dependants’ addition.
- Not read. The detailed Article 51 notices, the decree’s support and income tests, the 2007 supplementary provision Art. 8 (linked, not re-read).
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- National Pension Service — the deceased’s basic pension and years, survivor recognition, actual payments.
- The NPS app — your own old-age pension estimate (screens not checked).
Written on 28 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
