Surge in 'Twilight Divorce' Leads to Sharp Rise in Pension Splitting Claims

The number of people receiving a split pension—a portion of their ex-spouse's National Pension—has increased approximately 8.5 times over the past decade.

This trend is attributed to the sharp rise in "twilight divorces," which has led to a growing demand for sharing retirement income.

According to a report titled "Introduction of Lump-sum Pension Splitting" by researchers Yoo Ho-sun and Lee Ye-in at the National Pension Research Institute, the number of split pension recipients rose significantly from 11,802 in 2014 to 99,818 as of June 2026.

Of this total, 87,491 were women, accounting for approximately 88% of all recipients.

The average monthly benefit per person increased from about 184,000 won at the end of 2015 to about 290,000 won as of June 2026.

By gender, the average monthly amount was 167,000 won for men and 310,000 won for women.

This growth is largely driven by the impact of twilight divorces.

Data from the Korea Statistics shows that the proportion of divorces among couples married for 20 years or longer has more than tripled, from 9.8% in 1997 to 36.2% last year.

In particular, the proportion of divorces among couples who lived together for 30 years or more also rose from 10.9% in 2017 to 16.6% last year.

However, there are legal loopholes in the current system.

Pension splitting is only possible when the ex-spouse begins receiving their old-age pension. If the ex-spouse has less than 10 years of contribution and withdraws their pension as a lump-sum refund, the other party cannot claim a split pension.

As of the end of last year, the number of lump-sum refund recipients reached 198,663, with the highest payout recorded at 134.11 million won.

To address these equity issues, the research team proposed the introduction of a lump-sum pension splitting system.

The Government Employees Pension and the Private School Teachers' Pension have already been operating such a system since 2018.

The researchers explained that if a couple was married for five years or more, the party should be able to apply for a lump-sum split if they divorced before the ex-spouse claimed a lump-sum refund.

They also suggested setting a minimum threshold, allowing applications only when the amount to be split is 5 million won or more, in consideration of administrative costs.

In the long term, the researchers added, the system should transition to a "contribution history splitting" model, which would equally divide pension contribution records and income history at the time of divorce.

They explained that this would allow individuals to be independently protected from various risks that may arise after a divorce, such as disability or death, without being dependent on the status changes of their ex-spouse.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.