"Why Should We Support Elderly Chinese?": Public Outrage Over Foreigners Receiving Pensions Including Family Allowances

It has been revealed that foreigners who work in South Korea for just a month and then retroactively pay 119 months of National Pension premiums to receive an old-age pension for life can even register their spouses, children, and parents residing abroad as dependents to receive additional pension benefits.

The controversy surrounding "foreigners' retroactive National Pension payments" is spreading beyond individual pensions to supporting overseas families.

The National Pension Service provides an additional dependent family pension, which acts as a sort of family allowance, to old-age pension recipients who have a spouse, children under the age of 19, or parents aged 63 or older whom they financially support.

As of January 2026, the payment amount is 306,630 won per year for a spouse, and 204,360 won per year per person for children under 19 or parents aged 63 or older.

The problem is that the dependent family pension applies equally to foreign recipients as well as domestic citizens.

Consequently, a structure is possible where foreigners residing abroad who receive old-age pensions can register dependent family members to increase the amount of pension they receive each month.

In light of this, it has been reported that cases of Chinese nationals who obtained eligibility for old-age pensions through retroactive payments also applying for dependent family pensions are continuing to emerge.

Assuming they support one parent, one spouse, and one child, they can receive an additional 715,350 won per year on top of their old-age pension.

The National Pension also imposes no separate restrictions on the number of eligible dependent family members.

Criticism has been raised that this dependent family pension payment structure does not align with the purpose of the system.

Critics point out whether it is appropriate to pay money, which has the character of a family allowance, from pension funds created by the contributions of citizens, even to the spouses and children of foreigners who have never contributed to the South Korean economy through taxes or labor.

(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.