Can I Also Receive 1.74 Million Won If I Apply?... Unclaimed Retirement Pensions for 75,000 Workers

Unclaimed Retirement Pensions Total 130.9 Billion Won... About 1.74 Million Won Per Person
Government and Financial Sector Launch 'Unclaimed Retirement Pension Recovery' Campaign Until Year-End

It has been revealed that more than 130 billion KRW in retirement pensions have accumulated unclaimed because employees have not retrieved them. Financial authorities have decided to improve the reimbursement system so that employees can more easily claim their lost retirement pensions.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service on December 3, as of the end of September, unclaimed retirement pension reserves from employees of companies that have closed or gone bankrupt amounted to 130.9 billion KRW. The number of affected employees is about 75,000, meaning that, on average, each person has not received approximately 1.74 million KRW in retirement pensions.

By sector, unclaimed reserves held by banks account for the vast majority, totaling 128.1 billion KRW (about 73,000 people), which is 97.9% of the total. This is followed by insurance companies (about 1.9 billion KRW, 1,727 people) and securities firms (about 900 million KRW, 550 people).

Mostly Occurs When Employees Are Unaware of Enrollment After Company Bankruptcy or Closure... Some Do Not Apply Due to Lack of Knowledge

The retirement pension system allows companies to deposit retirement benefits with a financial institution (retirement benefit provider) outside the company, and the benefits are paid upon application by the employer or employee after retirement. A major reason for the occurrence of unclaimed retirement pensions is that employees are unaware of their enrollment in the retirement pension plan when their workplace goes bankrupt or closes. Additionally, even though individuals can apply for their retirement pensions directly from the financial institution where they are enrolled, without a payment instruction from the company after retirement, some do not apply because they do not know how.

Financial Supervisory Service Launches 'Unclaimed Retirement Pension Retrieval Campaign' Until Year-End

In response, the Financial Supervisory Service, with the cooperation of financial institutions and financial associations, will conduct the 'Unclaimed Retirement Pension Retrieval Campaign' until the end of the year to return retirement pensions to employees. First, each financial institution will receive employees' latest addresses from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and send registered mail to those with unclaimed retirement pensions. To further improve convenience and effectiveness, mobile electronic notifications will also be newly utilized. Notices will be sent directly to employees' mobile phones via services such as Kakao Alimtalk.

Encouraged by the Financial Supervisory Service, financial institutions plan to introduce a non-face-to-face claim system next year. Employees will be able to claim unclaimed retirement pensions and upload supporting documents directly through the financial institution's website or application, without visiting a branch, making the process more convenient. The Financial Supervisory Service stated, "We will continue to encourage financial institutions and identify areas for system improvement so that employees can claim their retirement pensions without omission, thereby protecting employees' rights and interests."