"Discarding Banker Business Cards"... Commercial Banks Accelerate Regular Early Retirement Programs

Hana Bank to Implement Special Early Retirement for Second Half of Year
Following KB, Shinhan, Woori Also Accepting Voluntary Retirements One After Another

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Voluntary retirement in the banking sector, which used to take place mainly at the end and beginning of the year, is now happening throughout the year. This is because the scope of voluntary retirement is expanding to include employees in their early 40s as well as those in their 50s who are approaching wage peak age. Additionally, as the number of offline branches decreases and more employees prepare early for their "second act" in life, voluntary retirement in the banking sector is expected to accelerate further.

According to the banking sector on the 13th, Hana Bank will conduct a special early retirement program for employees approaching retirement age in the second half of the year. Eligible employees are those who have worked for more than 15 years and are aged 40 or older. The application period is from today until the 14th. The special retirement allowance is up to 24 months of the average monthly wage and is paid differentially according to the remaining months until retirement.

In addition, a special retirement program for wage peak employees born in the second half of the year 1965 will also be conducted. The special retirement allowance includes 25 months of the average monthly wage along with reimbursement for children's education expenses.

Voluntary retirement has been a long-standing system in the banking sector, but it has recently gained more attention due to the frequency and the age range of eligible employees. Shinhan Bank accepted voluntary retirement applications twice this year, in January and June. Unlike the usual practice of banks conducting voluntary retirement once a year, it was conducted twice within six months.

The age range has also lowered. The voluntary retirement applicants at Shinhan Bank include all general employees at the level of deputy branch manager or higher, general employees below grade 4, RS (Retail Service) employees, indefinite contract employees, and management support contract employees who were born before 1972 and have more than 15 years of service. This means the age limit has been lowered to "49 years old," extending into the 40s.

Kookmin Bank saw about 800 employees retire through voluntary retirement from the end of last year to early this year. Woori Bank had 468 employees leave at the beginning of this year, while Hana Bank and NH Nonghyup Bank had 511 and 496 employees leave respectively at the end of last year. The number of employees at the five major banks decreased by 1,480 last year and further decreased by 1,449 in the first quarter of this year alone.

This trend is partly influenced by the reduction of offline branches. As non-face-to-face services expanded due to COVID-19, unprofitable branches are being aggressively closed. The number of domestic bank branches has been steadily decreasing from 7,281 in 2015 to 7,101 in 2017, 6,709 in 2019, and 6,406 in 2020.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.