Unlocking Your Pension: MOU Between National Pension Service and Overseas Korean Agency Explained

Translation result. [Herald Economy=Lee Tae-hyung] Linking the Overseas Koreans verification system with National Pension Service platforms will remove a major digital barrier and allow officials to use the diaspora database to quickly verify periods of foreign pension enrollment. The change is expected to strengthen retirement income protection for overseas Koreans.

The National Pension Service and the Overseas Koreans Office signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 8th at the Overseas Korean Service Support Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The agreement is aimed at improving the rights of overseas Koreans and securing their retirement income.

Under the agreement, the agencies will integrate the verification system for overseas Koreans with the National Pension Service’s website and mobile app. This will enable overseas Koreans who lack domestic identity-verification options to access pension services online, removing a key digital barrier.

As a result, overseas Koreans will be able to file pension claims and check their benefit eligibility from abroad with greater ease.

The NPS will also use the diaspora database the Overseas Koreans Office is building to verify periods of enrollment in foreign pension systems. That capability could be decisive in helping individuals recover foreign pension entitlements they previously missed.

For example, someone who contributed to the U.S. Social Security system but abandoned a claim because they lacked sufficient contribution years could be informed by the National Pension Service that combining their U.S. and Korean contribution periods may make them eligible — improving their chances of securing benefits.

The two agencies pledged to continue cooperating on major initiatives through online and offline channels, beginning with collaboration to support a visit by the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) to Korea on the 18th, which will provide U.S. pension-claim services.

Kim Seong-ju, president of the National Pension Service, said the MOU will make pension services more convenient and reliable for overseas Koreans. He added that the NPS will continue working closely with the Overseas Koreans Office to strengthen support for their retirement income security.