Reference Month for Calculating Additional National Pension Contributions Changed to "Month of Payment Deadline"

The National Pension Service announced on November 25 that, in accordance with the revised National Pension Act, the reference month for calculating additional contribution payments has been changed to "the month in which the payment deadline falls." This change applies to applicants who submit their requests after the implementation date.

Under the current system, if a National Pension subscriber is unable to pay contributions due to unemployment, leave of absence, or business suspension, they can make retroactive payments later and have their entire subscription period recognized. Previously, the reference month for calculating these additional contributions was "the month in which the application was submitted," which raised concerns about fairness depending on the timing of the application.

For example, if someone applied for additional contribution payments in December of this year and paid the contribution in January of the following year, which is the end of the payment deadline, the pre-increase contribution rate would be applied, while the increased income replacement rate would also be applied. According to the revised National Pension Act promulgated in April, starting next year, the contribution rate (the amount paid) will increase by 0.5 percentage points each year, and the income replacement rate (the amount received) will rise to 43%. Therefore, the National Pension Service explained that there could be advantages or disadvantages depending on whether the application was submitted in December. To eliminate this issue, the reference month for calculating additional contributions has been changed to "the month in which the payment deadline falls" (in the above example, January), and the agency stated that it will ensure subscribers do not experience inconvenience when applying for additional contributions.