Full-Time Homemakers to Join National Pension? Overhaul of Eligibility System Underway

Full-time homemakers and other spouses without income who were previously pushed outside the national pension system due to a lack of past contribution history are now facing a systematic overhaul to be incorporated as local subscribers.

According to a recent parliamentary audit report submitted to the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, the National Pension Service has formalized a restructuring of its subscription framework to include zero-income spouses and zero-income young adults with no prior contribution history.

Currently, there are 6.67 million individuals excluded from the legal coverage of the system—such as spouses without income and young adults aged 18 to under 27 with no income. The plan aims to incorporate them as premium-exempt individuals within the category of local subscribers.

The National Pension Service estimates that a total of 9.54 million people, or 32.4 percent of the population of mandatory subscription age, are caught in the pension blind spot. This figure includes those who have suspended payments due to job loss and long-term defaulters who have failed to pay premiums for 13 months or longer.

Under the current National Pension Act, even among those without income, unmarried individuals are classified as premium-exempt, allowing them to maintain their subscriber status. However, married individuals without income who have a working spouse are categorized as excluded persons and pushed outside the system.

Furthermore, unmarried individuals with no income are eligible for retroactive contributions for up to 119 months during their premium-exemption period, or they can receive financial support for low-income local subscriber premiums. In contrast, full-time homemakers without prior contribution records are excluded from both retroactive contributions and premium assistance.

Financial support will also be significantly expanded.

First, starting January 1 next year, youths born in 2009 who turn 18 will receive financial support covering their first-ever month's national pension premium of 41,000 won. Additionally, plans are underway to raise the eligibility criteria for low-income local subscriber premium support from the current monthly income threshold of less than 800,000 won to less than 1 million won.

Reported by Park Se-won | Video by Lee Yu-jin | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.