[Provided by Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service]
[Provided by Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service]

The government is expanding eligibility for Pureun Ssiat — South Korea's public fund-type retirement pension scheme — from workplaces with 30 or fewer employees to those with fewer than 50. It is also introducing an individual retirement pension (IRP) account under the scheme, allowing the self-employed, gig workers and others to join for the first time. The move aims to reduce gaps in retirement pension coverage and strengthen the country's old-age income security system.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service held a ceremony Wednesday at Front1 in Mapo-gu, Seoul, to mark the expansion of eligibility for the SME Retirement Pension Fund, known as Pureun Ssiat. The event was organized to publicize the expanded system following an amendment to the Act on the Guarantee of Workers' Retirement Benefits that took effect July 1, and to encourage broader participation from small and medium-sized enterprises and workers in various employment arrangements.

Under the revised system, Pureun Ssiat eligibility has been extended from workplaces with 30 or fewer regular employees to those with fewer than 50. The government plans to expand coverage further in stages, reaching workplaces with fewer than 100 employees from January next year.

The newly introduced Pureun Ssiat IRP also allows the self-employed, gig workers and civil servants to join the public fund-type retirement pension for the first time. The government expects the change to narrow gaps in retirement pension coverage and build a more comprehensive old-age income security framework.

Pureun Ssiat, launched in 2022 as South Korea's first public fund-type retirement pension, pools contributions from multiple small and medium-sized enterprises into a single fund for professional management. The scheme has grown to about 190,000 members with accumulated reserves of approximately 1.9 trillion won ($1.29 billion), and has posted stable returns for three consecutive years.

At Wednesday's ceremony, certificates of appreciation were presented to newly enrolled business owners with fewer than 50 employees and to new Pureun Ssiat IRP subscribers, and attendees completed IRP enrollment applications on the spot. On-site promotional activities also targeted companies based at Front1, a hub home to many startups and young workers.

"It is a meaningful step forward for South Korea's old-age income security system that workers at small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the self-employed, gig workers and others in diverse forms of employment, can now benefit from a public fund-type retirement pension," Deputy Minister of Employment and Labor Kwon Chang-jun said. "We will continue to improve the system and provide on-the-ground support to close the remaining gaps in retirement pension coverage and promote the wider adoption of fund-type retirement pensions."


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