From This Month, Children Up to Age 7 Will Receive Child Allowance

Ministry of Health and Welfare Expands Child Allowance Age Limit... From 6 to 7 Years Old
Back Payments Made Retroactively Without Application for Previously Unpaid Children

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Starting this month, the age eligibility for child allowance payments has been expanded, allowing children up to 7 years old to receive the child allowance.

On the 24th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that the Child Allowance Act, which increases the payment age from 6 to 7 years old, has been implemented.

The child allowance is a system that provides 100,000 KRW per month to promote child welfare and reduce the economic burden of childcare. It was first introduced in September 2018 for children aged 5 and has steadily expanded its coverage since then.

With this measure, a total of 503,106 children born between February 2014 and March 2015, who turn 7 this year, will continue to receive the child allowance. Children whose payments were stopped after their 7th birthday can receive unpaid amounts retroactively without a separate application. The retroactive payment period varies depending on the birth month and year, with up to three months of payments being retroactively provided. Children aged 6 who are already receiving the allowance will have their payment period automatically extended.

Those who wish to newly apply for the child allowance or need to change the guardian or payment account can apply or make changes at the local town, township, or neighborhood community service center corresponding to the child's registered address.

According to last year's survey on overall satisfaction with the child allowance, 87.3% of beneficiaries were satisfied with the system, an increase of 6 percentage points from 81.3% in 2019 among the same respondents.

A Ministry of Health and Welfare official stated, "Since the child allowance serves as a foundation for children to grow up healthily, we will do our best to ensure smooth payments without any issues."

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