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Exclusion of some retirees from basic pension leads to calls for change

Published: 02 May. 2026, 07:00

MICHAEL LEE
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A branch of the National Pension Service located in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 20, 2022 [YONHAP]

More than 30,000 older Koreans receive less than 200,000 won ($135) a month in benefits tied to their past employment in the public and education sector but remain ineligible for a basic pension, according to data released Wednesday by Rebuilding Korea Party Rep. Kim Sun-min’s office.

Although people aged 65 and over are usually entitled to a basic pension if their income falls within the bottom 70 percent of national pension recipients, those receiving special occupational pensions are excluded from such assistance.

The issue stems from the structure of Korea’s pension system. The national pension is a contributory program for private sector employees and the general public, with recipients’ benefits tied to the amount of money and the length of time that they have paid into the system. The basic pension, on the other hand, is a tax-funded safety net for older adults in the bottom 70 percent of income distribution among pensioners.

The data from Rep. Kim’s office shows that 34,018 people, mostly former civil servants but also retired military personnel, private school employees and postal workers, are ineligible for both the national and basic pensions because they receive special occupational pensions.

Among those covered by the special occupational pension scheme, 54,104 receive less than 1 million won per month — far less than the average 2 to 3 million per month.

Additionally, spouses of special occupational pension recipients are ineligible for the basic pension.

The figures underscore a widening disparity within a system generally perceived as relatively generous.

Special occupational pension recipients were excluded from the basic pension system following its introduction in 2014. The explanation provided at the time was that they already benefited from higher payouts and government contributions to their insurance premiums.

However, payouts under the special occupational pension system are determined by a retiree’s final salary and years of service, meaning that those with shorter careers, or who were affected by benefit-cutting reforms, receive significantly lower amounts than those with longer careers or who were unaffected by such reforms.

Complaints have consequently mounted through official petition channels.

“I applied for the basic pension last year but was rejected [...] because I used to be a civil servant,” wrote one petitioner, identified only by the surname Jung.

Frustration has also been voiced by those who opted for lump-sum payments rather than monthly ones when they retired.

Park, a former reserve major who served in the Vietnam War, said he received a one-time payment of 40 million won upon retirement in 1986 and used it to purchase a house, which he later had to sell to fund his children’s education.

“I get by with support from my children and a veterans’ allowance of 490,000 won,” he said. “Many retired soldiers who dedicated themselves to the country are in worse situations than I am, but they are all excluded from the basic pension.”

Structural changes to the special occupation pension system have added to the issue. Reforms in 2015 reduced the minimum contribution period for civil servants, private school employees and postal workers from 20 years to 10, which increased the number of beneficiaries with relatively small payouts. According to critics, their continued exclusion from the basic pension amounts to a form of reverse discrimination.

As a result, experts and lawmakers have begun pushing for change.

Rep. Kim has proposed a bill that would allow special occupational pension recipients to apply for the basic pension — a recommendation that a government advisory body tasked with reviewing the basic pension system also gave in 2023. Rep. Kim Dong-ah of the Democratic Party has introduced a separate bill to extend basic pension eligibility to the spouses of those receiving special occupation pensions.

Seok Jae-eun, a professor of social welfare at Hallym University, said the current framework should be overhauled.

“The basic pension is currently intended to cover the bottom 70 percent [of the income distribution] of the older population, but it would be more reasonable to move to a fixed income threshold and apply it across the board, including to special occupational pension recipients,” she said.

However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare appears hesitant to expand basic pension eligibility.

“At the time of the basic pension system’s introduction in 2014, older individuals who were not receiving any public pension benefits, such as occupational or national pensions, had to be given priority, and restrictions were imposed in consideration of public perception toward recipients of occupational pensions,” the ministry said in response to a public complaint filed in July last year.

The ministry added that more “social consensus” would be necessary before implementing any changes.

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.
BY SHIN SUNG-SIK, MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]