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What is the Retirement Pension System?

10/1/2025
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Author:system
The current retirement allowance system requires full payment of the retirement allowance to workers who have served for more than one year within 14 days from the date of resignation. However, with the passage of the 'Worker Retirement Benefit Security Act,' it has become possible to receive retirement allowances in the form of a pension. The retirement pension system consists of defined benefit type and defined contribution type. The defined benefit type involves the employer accumulating and managing each worker's retirement allowance through products from management institutions (such as insurance companies, banks, etc.). In this form, the future pension amount the worker will receive is predetermined in advance, and the employer's accumulation burden varies depending on the results of the accumulated funds' operation. The defined contribution type is a system where the employer accumulates at least 1/12 of the total wage amount into individual worker accounts at a financial institution selected by labor and management. The worker then selects the financial institution's products themselves, operates the accumulated funds, and receives a pension accordingly. While the employer's contribution amount is fixed in advance, the worker's pension benefit may vary depending on the returns from the operation of the accumulated funds. Eligibility for pension receipt is for retirees aged 55 or older with a membership period of 10 years or more. It can be received as a pension or a lump sum, and in cases of mid-term resignation without meeting pension eligibility, it can be received as a lump sum. The minimum receiving period is 5 years or more, and specific details are to be determined by labor and management in the retirement pension regulations. Additionally, considering that the average tenure of workers is only 5-6 years, a personal retirement account is introduced to allow accumulation and aggregation of retirement allowances even when changing jobs. The personal retirement account is designed to address the issue of retirement allowances being spent as living expenses. It allows workers to accumulate retirement allowances received upon retirement or job change into an account in their own name and utilize them as pension or other retirement funds. Only those who have received their retirement allowance as a lump sum can join, and there are restrictions on fund operation, payment methods, etc. The retirement pension system will also be partially introduced in businesses with fewer than 5 regular workers, where working conditions are relatively poor, between 2008 and 2010. When the retirement pension system is introduced, depending on labor-management agreement, there is a method of intermediate settlement of pre-implementation retirement allowances followed by new implementation, or a method of accumulating the entire intermediate settlement amount of retirement allowances into an individual's retirement savings account to receive the same benefits as existing members.

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What is the Retirement Pension System? | Foreigner Info Center | FIC