1.5 Trillion Won in National Pension Contributions Collected in Error Over 5.5 Years... 1.9 Billion Won in Administrative Costs 'Wasted'

Han Jia: "Repeated Every Year... Institutional Improvements Needed"

It has been revealed that, over the past five years and six months, more than 1.5 trillion won in National Pension Service contributions were collected in error. The administrative costs wasted as a result amounted to approximately 1.9 billion won.

Asia Economy Database

According to data titled "Status of Erroneous National Pension Payments" received by Assemblywoman Han Jia of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, from the National Pension Service and the National Health Insurance Service on September 17, there were 1,984,000 cases of erroneous payments between 2020 and June of this year, totaling 1.541 trillion won.

Erroneous National Pension payments refer to cases where subscribers pay contributions twice, or miscalculate the amount and pay more than required. It can also occur when subscribers report changes in eligibility, such as resignation, job change, or business closure, late.

The number of erroneous payments and the corresponding amounts were as follows: 341,000 cases (224.5 billion won) in 2020; 339,000 cases (255.1 billion won) in 2021; 350,000 cases (276.5 billion won) in 2022; 363,000 cases (308.9 billion won) in 2023; and 357,000 cases (322.8 billion won) last year. In the first half of this year alone, there were 234,000 cases (153.2 billion won).

The amount of erroneous payments has increased every year, rising 43.8% from 224.5 billion won in 2020 to 322.8 billion won last year.

During this period, there were 170,000 cases (70.4 billion won) of erroneous National Pension contributions that had not yet been refunded to subscribers. Among these, 5,000 cases (1 billion won) in 2020 became unrecoverable due to the expiration of the statute of limitations under Article 115 of the National Pension Act.

When a refund is due as a result of an erroneous payment, a notice is sent to the subscriber to apply for a refund. Over the past five years and six months, administrative costs spent on correcting erroneous payments have reached 1.884 billion won.

Assemblywoman Han Jia pointed out, "A significant portion of erroneous payments stems from delayed reporting by subscribers, but since hundreds of thousands of cases are repeated every year, institutional improvements are necessary." She added, "The National Pension Service should shift to a structure that prevents erroneous payments in the first place to reduce inconvenience for the public and unnecessary administrative costs."