Even if your 7th birthday has passed and the service was stopped, you can receive it without reapplying
If you have never applied, apply at the community center or Bokjiro
[Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Starting from April, the age eligibility for child allowance payments will be expanded from under 7 years old to under 8 years old. With the expansion of the payment age, child allowances will be paid to children born from February 2014 to March 2015, and these children can receive payments retroactively from the January installment of this year.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 8th that it will operate a "pre-application and data maintenance period" from the 9th of this month until the 31st of next month in preparation for the expansion of the child allowance payment age.
Children born after April 2015 will have their payment period automatically extended by law amendment, and children born from February 2014 to March 2015 can receive payments retroactively from the January installment of this year. However, the retroactive period varies depending on the child's birth year and month.
Children who previously received child allowance but had their payments stopped upon reaching their 7th birthday are considered to have applied under the revised Child Allowance Act and will receive payments without reapplying. However, if the guardian or payment account information has changed since the application, the guardian must contact the local community service center in charge of the resident registration address during the data maintenance period to update payment account information. Although updates can be made at any time after the data maintenance period, updates must be made within the period to be reflected in the child allowance payments starting from April this year.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments will send text messages and postal notices to guardians of children whose child allowance payments were previously stopped after this date.
If you have never applied for child allowance, you must apply directly during the pre-application period to receive retroactive payments from the January installment of this year. Especially, children born from February 2014 to April 2014 must apply within the pre-application period; otherwise, they will lose eligibility upon turning 8 years old. Applications can be made by visiting the local community service center of the child's resident registration address or through the "Bokjiro" website. Only parents can apply online, while grandparents, heads of child welfare facilities, or others who are not parents must apply in person.
The child allowance system provides 100,000 KRW per month to all children under 8 years old (Korean nationals) to promote children's rights and welfare and to alleviate the economic burden of child-rearing. It was first introduced in September 2018 for children under 6 years old and has steadily expanded its coverage since then.
Starting this year, parents applying for child allowance online are required to watch a parent education video of about 5 minutes, and those applying in person will receive promotional materials containing parent education content.
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