# South Korea Opens Pension for Stay-at-Home Spouses

> South Korea reopens national pension for stay-at-home spouses after 13 years, launching 'one person, one pension' for 6.67 million.
- Title: South Korea Opens Pension for Stay-at-Home Spouses | Shortify
- Summary: South Korea reopens national pension for stay-at-home spouses after 13 years, launching 'one person, one pension' for 6.67 million. South Korea will add 6.67…
- Keywords: south korea, national pension service, one person one pension, stay-at-home spouses, pension retroactive payments, 6.67 million, national pension act, payment-exempt subscribers, retroactive payment, low-income support, finance, markets
- Source: BigGo Finance — https://finance.biggo.com/news/8a17f87d-8621-4ee4-9842-1fa5c077e28f
- Author: BigGo Finance
- Published: 2026-10-22T20:55:21+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: south korea, national pension service, one person one pension, stay-at-home spouses, pension retroactive payments, 6.67 million, national pension act, payment-exempt subscribers, retroactive payment, low-income support, finance, markets
## South Korea Reopens Pension for Stay-at-Home Spouses
South Korea's National Pension Service and Ministry of Health and Welfare are pushing a membership restructuring to bring 6.67 million people into the system as payment-exempt subscribers.
## 13-Year Gap in Pension System
The move converts the 'one pension per household' framework from 1988 into a 'one pension per person' system after a 2013 attempt failed.
## Stay-at-Home Spouses Gain Retroactive Payments
Spouses with no income could keep subscriber status and make retroactive payments of up to 119 months to meet the 10-year minimum contribution period.
## Gender Gap in Pensions
Women's average monthly old-age pension is 429,206 won (approximately $320), about half the male level, and 80.3% of voluntary subscribers are women.
## Excluded Subscribers Face Barriers
Unmarried people with no income become payment-exempt subscribers who retain regional subscriber status but defer contributions, while married people with no income are excluded from the system.
## Most Left System Due to Marriage
91.6% of excluded subscribers aged 27 to 59 had past payment records from previous employment, with 2.16 million paying contributions for more than four years.
## Childbirth Credit Shifted to Husbands
97.3% of childbirth credit recipients are husbands, who have longer contribution periods and higher incomes.
## Voluntary Subscribers Are Mostly Women
80.3% of voluntary subscribers who pay contributions on their own initiative are women, and women are 2.2 times the number of men among voluntarily continued subscribers.
## Retroactive Payment System
Spouses with no income could gain regional subscriber status and be managed as payment-exempt subscribers who pay nothing while they have no income.
## Fiscal Stability Challenges
Critics say measures to prevent regressivity, such as how standard monthly income is calculated for retroactive payments and installment payment mechanisms, must be sophisticated.
## Financial Support for Vulnerable Groups
The government plans to give 41,000 won (approximately $31) to young people born in 2009 who turn 18 on January 1 next year and raise the income threshold for low-income support.
## Next Steps for Pension Reform
The government will first push to include spouses with no income, then review whether to expand eligibility to jobless young adults under 27 and others.
## Key takeaway

South Korea will add 6.67 million stay-at-home spouses and jobless young adults to its pension system with retroactive payments to meet 10-year contribution requirements.