iM Bank Launches Retirement Pension Promotion Guaranteed Loan

On November 27, iM Bank announced that it had signed a "Financial Support Business Agreement for the Promotion of New Corporate Retirement Pension Adoption" with the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and launched the "Retirement Pension Promotion Guaranteed Loan."

The "Retirement Pension Promotion Guaranteed Loan" was created through consultations since the beginning of this year among the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, and retirement pension providers (banks), with the aim of strengthening workers' retirement security by establishing retirement pension plans. iM Bank contributed 400 million won as a special fund and 100 million won as a guarantee fee support fund to the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, creating a guarantee fund of up to 12.7 billion won. The bank plans to provide working capital support of up to 500 million won per company to businesses newly adopting retirement pension plans.

Businesses newly adopting retirement pension plans are eligible for support not only if they are iM Bank clients, but also if they are clients of other banks, securities companies, or insurance companies. Specifically, eligible borrowers are companies that have introduced a defined contribution (DC) or defined benefit (DB) retirement pension plan after January 1 of the year prior to the guarantee application date and have maintained the plan for at least one month since its introduction. If more than one year has passed since the adoption of the retirement pension plan, the company must have a record of at least one retirement pension contribution payment.

To apply for a loan, companies must first undergo a guarantee review at a nearby Korea Credit Guarantee Fund branch. Once the guarantee is approved, they can visit a designated iM Bank branch to sign the loan agreement. Applicants can choose between the "Special Contribution Agreement Guarantee," in which the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund guarantees the entire loan amount for three years, and the "Guarantee Fee Support Agreement Guarantee," which provides a 0.5 percentage point support on the applicable guarantee fee rate for three years.

Hwang Byungwoo, President of iM Bank, stated, "The need for retirement pension plans is increasing to strengthen workers' retirement security, but we recognized that it could be a burden for companies. That is why we proceeded with this agreement and product launch. We hope that iM Bank's financial support will help alleviate some of the burden on companies and contribute to the activation of retirement pension plans."