[Edaily Reporter Kim Ju-hwan ] It has been revealed that more than 130,000 workers are at risk of failing to meet the minimum 10-year enrollment period required for old-age pension benefits because their employers have failed to pay the National Pension premiums deducted from their salaries.

According to data submitted by the National Pension Service to Rep. So Byung-hoon of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, as of September of this year, there were 1,503,427 subscribers who had a history of not having their enrollment periods fully recognized due to their employers’ failure to pay premiums. The average period of non-recognition per person was approximately 7 months.

To be eligible for an old-age pension after retirement, one must have at least 10 years (120 months) of enrollment in the National Pension System. However, if an employer fails to pay premiums, that period is not fully counted toward the enrollment period—even if the worker actually worked during that time.

Currently, 134,616 subscribers have a recognized enrollment period of less than 10 years, but would meet the 10-year requirement if the periods during which their employers failed to pay premiums were included. Among them, 20,982 were aged 60 or older and had reached retirement age.

In particular, 56,883 subscribers—accounting for 42.3% of the total—had a membership period of just 119 months. This represents a group that could meet the eligibility requirements for an old-age pension if even one additional month of premiums owed by their employer were recognized.

By duration of delinquency among subscribers with a history of unpaid premiums at their workplace, the breakdown was as follows: △1–5 months: 954,524 people; △6–11 months: 323,266 people; △12–23 months: 157,833 people; and △24 months or more: 67,804 people.

Damage caused by non-payment was also confirmed among recipients of “lump-sum refunds”—those who have already opted out of receiving pension benefits and received a lump-sum refund of their paid premiums. Among those who received lump-sum refunds from 2023 through June of this year, 2,823 individuals (with a total non-payment period of 74,947 months) would have met the 10-year enrollment requirement if the periods of their employer’s non-payment had been added to their own contribution history.

The problem lies in the systemic contradiction whereby employees must bear the full brunt of the disadvantages caused by employers’ nonpayment. National Pension premiums are split equally between employers and employees, and the obligation to pay rests with the employer. However, when an employer fails to pay, even if an employee pays their own share directly, only half of the nonpayment period is recognized; to fulfill the full requirement, the employee must also pay the employer’s share.

In a written response submitted to Rep. So Byung-hoon’s office, the National Pension Service (NPS) stated, “We fully sympathize with the need to provide relief to employees who suffer disadvantages even after contributions were deducted from their wages due to an employer’s nonpayment.” However, the NPS maintains that recognizing the enrollment period without requiring premium payments would place a financial burden on the fund and could raise issues of fairness toward those who pay their premiums in good faith.

Critics point out that the measures currently proposed by the Service—which are limited to relaxing the criteria for publicly disclosing the names of employers with high or habitual arrears (lowering the threshold from the current “one year or more” and “20 million won or more” to “10 million won or more”)—are insufficient to directly protect workers’ entitlement to benefits.

Representative So emphasized, “While employers have a legal obligation to pay National Pension premiums, it is unreasonable for innocent workers to bear the risk of losing their retirement pensions simply because their employers failed to pay.” He added, “We must not allow a system to persist where workers are asked to pay again even after it has been confirmed that premiums were deducted from their salaries.”

He added, “The government must promptly devise effective remedial measures—including a plan to prioritize recognizing workers’ enrollment periods and holding delinquent employers accountable—to ensure that workers, particularly those nearing retirement age, do not suffer harm.”