Divorce, pensions and severance pay:
what is divided and how

National Pension split pension: who qualifies

A split pension is the divorced spouse's own right, paid directly by the National Pension Service. The Supreme Court has held that it is a separate right, distinct from the claim for property division (officially “division of property”) under the Civil Act (Supreme Court Decision 2018Du65088, decided June 13, 2019). Article 64(1) of the National Pension Act sets out the following four requirements.

1. Marriage of five years or moreThe period of marriage overlapping with the former spouse's pension enrollment must be at least five years. Periods with no actual married life, for example because of separation or one spouse leaving home, are excluded from the calculation.
2. DivorceThe divorce must have been finalized, whether by judicial divorce or divorce by agreement.
3. Former spouse's entitlement to an old-age pensionThe former spouse must be entitled to receive an old-age pension.
4. Reaching your own pensionable ageThe age stated in the statute is 60, but it is raised depending on the year of birth: 61 for those born 1953–1956, 62 for 1957–1960, 63 for 1961–1964, 64 for 1965–1968, and 65 for those born in 1969 or later (Article 8 of the Addenda <Act No. 8541>).

The payment amount is half of the portion corresponding to the marriage period of the former spouse's old-age pension, excluding the dependent family pension amount (Article 64(2)). Once you begin receiving a split pension, it is unaffected even if the former spouse's old-age pension later ends or is suspended for reasons on the former spouse's side (Article 65(1)). If you remarry the former spouse, you may apply to waive the split pension (Article 64-4).

Deadlines and how to claim in advance

• Standard deadline · Claim within five years of the date all four requirements are met (Article 64(3)).
• Advance claim · If you divorced before reaching pensionable age, you may file a claim in advance within three years of the date the divorce took effect. The advance claim and its cancellation are each allowed only once, and the actual pension is paid from when all requirements are met (Article 64-3).

At the time of divorce, pensionable age is often still far away, so the claim is easy to forget. Filing an advance claim right after the divorce removes the worry of missing the deadline later.

If you want a different division ratio

If the property division agreement or court ruling separately specifies how the pension will be divided, that arrangement applies first (Article 64-2(1)). In that case, the division ratio and related terms must be reported to the National Pension Service (paragraph (2) of the same Article). The Supreme Court held that where a mediation record or agreement does not state a pension division ratio, it must not be lightly concluded that the divorced spouse waived the split pension or agreed to an unfavorable ratio (Decision 2018Du65088). Put the other way, if you agree to divide the pension differently from the statutory method, that agreement must be written clearly in the document.

How civil service, military and private school pensions differ

The requirements under Article 45 of the Public Officials Pension Act are a marriage of five years or more, divorce, reaching age 65, and the former spouse's entitlement to a retirement pension or early retirement pension. The age applicable in each year is set out in Article 4 of the Addenda to the wholly amended Act of March 20, 2018 (Act No. 15523). If a public official chooses a lump sum instead of a pension, there is a separate system under which the former spouse receives a share of that lump sum (Article 49). The division of military pensions is governed separately by Article 22 of the Military Pension Act, and Article 42 of the Pension for Private School Teachers and Staff Act (the “Private School Pension Act”, 사학연금법) provides that the provisions of the Public Officials Pension Act apply mutatis mutandis.

Severance pay and retirement pensions of company employees

Unlike the National Pension, there is no split pension system for the severance pay or retirement pensions of company employees. Moreover, under the Act on the Guarantee of Employees' Retirement Benefits (the “Retirement Benefits Act”, 퇴직급여법), the right to receive retirement pension benefits generally cannot be assigned or seized (Article 7(1)). As a result, they can only be divided within the framework of property division at divorce.

• If your spouse is still employed · The amount of retirement benefits the spouse would expect to receive on the assumption of retiring at the close of arguments in the fact-finding instance is treated as subject to property division (Supreme Court en banc Decision 2013Meu2250, decided July 16, 2014).
• If the pension is already being paid · For a public official already receiving a retirement pension, the pension can be divided by requiring a fixed percentage of each monthly payment to be paid over as periodic payments, and different division ratios may be applied to the pension and to other assets. A periodic payment claim created this way cannot be assigned or inherited (Supreme Court en banc Decision 2012Meu2888, decided July 16, 2014).

The structure of property division is explained in Property Division. A property division claim that includes severance pay must also be filed within the two-year deadline after divorce (Article 839-2(3) of the Civil Act).

Frequently Asked Questions

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Written on the basis of Korean statutes in force (National Law Information Center, Ministry of Government Legislation) and court precedents as of October 20, 2026. Results may differ with amendments to the law or the facts of each case. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Written and reviewed by Attorney Dongwoo Shin — Ph.D. in Law; certified criminal law specialist and certified divorce law specialist registered with the Korean Bar Association. He handles each case personally from consultation to judgment. About the attorney →
Last updated October 20, 2026