On Oct. 22, the National Pension Service told a National Assembly audit it is pursuing a plan to bring non-earning spouses, mostly full-time homemakers, into the National Pension. It is not law yet: the National Pension Act would have to be amended first.
Marriage currently locks you out
An unmarried person with no income stays a payment-exempt member. A non-earning married person whose spouse has income is classed as 'excluded' and cannot join. The only route today is voluntary enrolment, paid entirely by the person, with no low-income premium support.
As of end-March, 6.67 million people were in the excluded group.
What the NPS wants
Non-earning spouses and non-earning people aged 18 to 26 would become payment-exempt regional subscribers. They would keep membership, skip premiums while they have no income and later top up unpaid months for up to 119 months.
The NPS frames it as a shift from 'one pension per household' to 'one pension per person'.
Law and budget come first
Article 9 of the National Pension Act, which defines who is excluded, must be amended, so the Assembly has to act. No start date was reported.
The NPS also wants to lift the income ceiling for low-income premium support from under 800,000 won to under 1 million won a month. Support covers 50% of the premium for up to 12 months and depends on next year's budget.
Why the gender gap numbers stand out
At the end of 2025 the average monthly old-age pension was 429,206 won for women and 851,670 won for men. Women's average contribution period was 123 months against 152 for men, and 268,113 women were voluntary subscribers.
A health ministry official said a structure that excludes people from automatic enrolment simply for being homemakers needs fixing quickly.
Nothing changes today
This is the NPS's plan, not a rule. Non-earning spouses who want to join now have to apply for voluntary enrolment; check the amount and conditions with the NPS directly.
