National Pension: minimum contribution period for an old-age pension
Decides whether years of contributions become a pension or a question about a refund, which for a foreign employee is the whole planning problem. Someone leaving after six years has no old-age pension entitlement, and whether they get anything back is a separate test on nationality and status rather than on how much they paid in.
- Applies to
- Anyone contributing to the National Pension, including foreign nationals
- Review cadence
- Checked once a year
What we have recorded
- 2026-09-2110 years
An old-age pension in the form of a pension generally requires at least ten years of coverage. Below that the money does not vanish, but it is dealt with through the refund rules, which turn on reciprocity, a social security agreement or a specified status of stay — not on the length of contribution.
National Pension Service
One reading so far. This becomes a history the first time the figure moves while we are watching — which is the part that cannot be reconstructed later.
Guides that depend on this figure
When this figure moves, every guide above needs the same edit. That is why it is tracked here rather than copied into each one.