KB News Desk
South Korea is reviewing pension rules for foreign nationals after cases emerged of people qualifying for old-age benefits after contributing for as little as one month and later making years of back payments.
Critics argue that some foreign subscribers may be taking advantage of a system designed to help people facing financial difficulties who are unable to make regular contributions. Others, however, say singling out foreign subscribers could be discriminatory because the same system is also available to Korean nationals.
“There have been reported cases in which foreign nationals received old-age pension benefits after working in Korea and becoming National Pension Service subscribers for only one month, then making a lump-sum retroactive payment (before reaching pension age),” the ministry said in a press release Friday.
“The ministry is considering improvements by looking into how foreign nationals use the deferred contribution payment system and similar systems in other countries, and will pursue institutional improvements if necessary.”
The issue centers on the national pension’s retroactive contribution system, which allows eligible subscribers to make up contributions for periods when they were unable to pay premiums for legally recognized reasons.
In one case cited in local media reports, a Chinese national who had contributed to the pension system for one month later paid contributions covering another 119 months, meeting the 120-month minimum required to qualify for an old-age pension.
The debate also raises a broader question of fairness between long-term contributors and those who can meet the minimum eligibility period largely through retroactive payments.
The system was introduced to help people whose contribution records were interrupted for reasons such as periods without income, including time spent as a spouse without income or receiving basic livelihood security benefits, as well as mandatory military service.
Local media reports have pointed to a rise in retroactive contribution applications among foreign nationals, including long-term residents, overseas Koreans, permanent residents and marriage migrants.
Applications have reportedly been particularly noticeable among ethnic Koreans from China.
The reports also cited concerns among NPS officials about the administrative burden of determining whether foreign subscribers meet the requirements for retroactive payments.
In some cases, officials must verify documents issued overseas, making eligibility checks more complex because the documents were issued under different legal and administrative systems.
The reports also raised concerns about the additional challenges of verifying the continued eligibility of pension recipients living overseas after they begin receiving benefits.
However, migrant-rights advocates have criticized framing the issue primarily as one involving foreign nationals, arguing that the same retroactive payment system is also available to Korean citizens.
“If there is a problem with the retroactive payment system itself, that is one thing. But the system is ultimately intended to provide pension benefits to people who have paid into it,” an official at the Migration and Human Rights Institute told The Korea Herald. “Migrants also pay contributions and are legally required to enroll in the national pension system.”
He questioned the tendency to frame problems with the management of the pension fund as problems involving foreigners.
“If people are gradually excluded on that basis, what meaning does a system based on social solidarity have?”
