The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (President Park Jonggil) held a flower pot and seed kit sharing event near Guro Digital Complex Station in Seoul, where many small and medium-sized enterprises are clustered, on the 13th. The event included promotion of Pureun Seed and on-site consultations.
The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service held a flower pot and seed kit sharing event near Guro Digital Complex Station in Seoul on the 13th to promote 'Pureun Seed.' Photo by Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service
Pureun Seed is a public retirement pension system introduced in September 2022, which is available to workplaces with 30 or fewer regular employees. The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service is responsible for managing the assets, and last year achieved a high return rate of 6.52%.
There are also many benefits available to Pureun Seed subscribers. First, fees are waived for three years. In addition, for low-income workers (those earning less than 130% of the minimum wage), the government provides a subsidy equal to 10% of the contributions for both employers and employees.
For example, for a worker earning a monthly salary of 2.5 million won, the employer pays 2.5 million won in contributions over one year, but receives a 250,000 won subsidy. In the worker's account, the retirement benefit of 2.5 million won is supplemented by an additional 250,000 won subsidy, resulting in a total of 2.75 million won being accumulated.
At the time of the system's introduction, there were 2,443 participating workplaces and 9,650 workers enrolled. Currently, the numbers have increased more than tenfold to 27,383 workplaces and 123,542 workers. The size of the fund surpassed 1 trillion won last year and now exceeds 1.3 trillion won, demonstrating rapid growth.
The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service launched the Pureun Seed street campaign to reach out to employers and workers who, due to their busy daily lives, have not had the opportunity to learn in detail about retirement pensions needed for their later years.
An office worker, referred to as Mr. A, who works at a nearby IT company, said, "I didn't know that joining Pureun Seed meant exemption from fees and even receiving subsidies. I plan to let my boss and colleagues know so that they can sign up as well."
The event was attended by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Samsung Asset Management (the dedicated Pureun Seed management institution), Mirae Asset Securities, and the Korea Certified Public Labor Attorneys Association. Together, they shared the goal of expanding Pureun Seed to help secure retirement income for workers at small and medium-sized enterprises.
President Park Jonggil stated, "I hope that the advantages of Pureun Seed, which has been achieving stable returns of over 6% annually, will become more widely known among employers and workers so that its benefits can be more broadly shared. We will strive to ensure that Pureun Seed, the nation's first fund-type retirement pension system, becomes a milestone for retirement pensions in Korea."
The Pureun Seed retirement pension fund system for small and medium-sized enterprises continues to work toward narrowing the retirement income gap for workers, reflecting the public interest values of the Lottery and Lottery Fund Act. Those wishing to enroll can contact the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service customer center by phone or visit the website.
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