NPS seeks to expand mandatory pension enrollment to nonworking spouses, young adults
The government plans to enroll millions of previously-excluded Koreans as regional subscribers, allowing them to build pension eligibility through retroactive payments.
A person walks by a National Pension Service building in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, on Sept. 10.NEWS1
The government is moving to bring millions of people excluded from the National Pension Service's (NPS) mandatory enrollment system — including stay-at-home spouses without income and young adults who are not working — into the framework as part of a broader shift toward ensuring pension coverage for every individual.
The NPS named the restructuring as a key reform priority in a report submitted to the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee during a parliamentary audit on Thursday.
Under the proposal, nonworking spouses and people aged 18 to 26 without income will be registered as regional subscribers eligible for exemptions from pension contributions during periods without income. They would be able to make retroactive payments for those periods, allowing them to count toward the minimum 10-year contribution period required to receive their national pension.
These groups, which are currently excluded from mandatory enrollment but can join the NPS voluntarily, generally cannot make retroactive payments for periods before their initial enrollment.
Around 20.93 million people were enrolled in the national pension system while another 1.8 million were covered by separate pension schemes for civil servants, military personnel and private school employees, according to NPS data in March. That brings the total number of public pension subscribers to 22.73 million.
Meanwhile, 6.67 million people, including nonworking spouses and people under 27 without income, are legally excluded from mandatory national pension enrollment, although they can choose to join voluntarily.
The number of people facing gaps in national pension coverage rises to 9.54 million when including 2.42 million regional subscribers exempt from contributions due to unemployment or other circumstances and 450,000 long-term defaulters who have failed to pay contributions for at least 13 months.
That means 32.4 percent of people aged 18 to 59 are either excluded from mandatory pension enrollment or are not paying contributions. Korea has 29.4 million people aged 18 to 59, according to population statistics from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
A person walks into a National Pension Service office in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on June 29.NEWS1
One cause of concern was that under the current system, a person's status under the national pension system differs depending on marital status, even when they have no income.
Unmarried people without income are classified as regional subscribers. This exempts them from making contributions during periods without income but allows them to later make retroactive payments for those periods.
Married people without income, however, can only join voluntarily if their spouse earns an income and is covered by a pension scheme.
As a result, unmarried regional subscribers without income can make retroactive contributions for up to 119 months during which they did not pay contributions. They may also qualify for government subsidies for low-income regional subscribers.
Stay-at-home spouses with no previous record of pension contributions, on the other hand, have difficulty accessing these benefits.
A person receives a consultation at a local branch of the National Pension Service in western Seoul on June 29.NEWS1
To address this disparity, the NPS plans to register nonworking spouses and people aged 18 to 26 without income as regional subscribers eligible for contribution exemptions.
The agency also plans to overhaul the retroactive contribution system to make it more widely accessible.
Additionally, financial support will be expanded to reduce gaps in pension coverage.
Starting Jan. 1, 2027, people born in 2009 who turn 18 will receive 41,000 won ($30) to cover their first month of national pension contributions.
The government is also seeking to raise the income threshold for pension contribution subsidies for low-income regional subscribers from the current 800,000 won per month to 1 million won.
The maximum monthly pension contribution subsidy for farmers and fishers was also increased from 46,350 won in 2025 to 50,350 won this year.
Through the proposed enrollment reforms, the government and the NPS aim to reduce disparities in pension coverage based on marital status or temporary loss of income and strengthen the “one pension per person” system, under which individuals can secure their own pension entitlements over the long term.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
