🏦 Retirement pension participant training
Retirement pension training has the narrowest scope of the five statutory mandatory trainings. It applies only to workplaces that have set up a retirement pension plan (DB or DC); workplaces that operate only a severance-pay plan do not need to provide it.
The fine starts at KRW 2 million (≈ US$1,500) for a first offense, the heaviest of the five subjects. Common items can be satisfied by posting, but the investment information that DC plan participants must receive cannot be covered by posting alone; it must be delivered by mailing, in-person sessions, or online training.
Legal requirements at a glance
Legal basis: Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, Article 32(2)–(3) · Enforcement Decree of the same Act, Articles 32, 32-2, and 32-3 · Enforcement Rules, Article 11 · Fines, Article 48
| Audience | Employers that have set up a defined benefit (DB) or defined contribution (DC) retirement pension plan must train their participants (employees). Workplaces with only a severance-pay plan are not covered. For corporate-type IRPs with fewer than 10 employees, the pension provider delivers the training. |
|---|---|
| Frequency · Hours | At least once a year. There is no statutory minimum duration. |
| Training methods | Common items may be posted permanently on the company intranet (except for the first training after a plan is introduced). DB items can be covered by posting, by mailing written materials or email, by in-person sessions, or by online training. DC items can be covered only by mailing, in-person sessions, or online training, not by posting. |
| Outsourcing | You can outsource it to the retirement pension provider (the financial institution you enrolled with) or to a specialized organization. A specialized organization must have at least one instructor who meets the requirements, such as 3+ years of retirement pension work, a certified labor attorney, or 1+ year of university teaching. DC investment items are delivered in coordination with the pension provider. |
| Fines | KRW 2 million (≈ US$1,500) for a first offense, KRW 5 million (≈ US$3,740) for a second, and KRW 10 million (≈ US$7,480) for a third or subsequent offense (escalated based on the past two years). |
| Records | The law does not specify a retention period. We recommend collecting and keeping the training materials and attendance records. |
What the training must cover
These topics are set by the Enforcement Decree. What you cover depends on the plan type (DB or DC).
- Common — benefit types and eligibility, collateral loans and early withdrawals, the tax system, retirement planning, and other general aspects of the plan
- DB plans — Operating status, such as contribution payments over the last three years and funding status against the minimum required reserve
- DC plans — Investment information, including contribution levels, investment principles, and the return structure, risks, and fees of each investment option
Common points of confusion
Severance-pay plans are exempt — If you have not set up a retirement pension plan, this training obligation does not apply to you. First confirm which plan your company has.
DC plans cannot be covered by posting alone — putting materials on the company bulletin board covers only common and DB items. DC investment information must be delivered by mail, in person, or online.
Get asset data from the financial institution — DB funding status and DC investment status are held only by the retirement pension provider you enrolled with. Even if an outside instructor delivers the training, this data must come from the financial institution.
Pair it with retirement planning for better engagement — Retirement planning is part of the statutory content. Explaining the system alone gets tuned out, but adding a session where employees calculate their own post-retirement cash flow raises participation.
How to prepare for this training
Retirement pension participant training is typically provided free of charge by the retirement pension provider you enrolled with (bank, securities firm, or insurer), together with data on plan assets and investments. Without that data you cannot fill in the statutory content on funding and investment status or returns by product, so asking the provider first is better for both cost and quality.
Making the request is simple — ask your branch or retirement pension help desk when and how they can deliver this year’s participant training, and ask for the “DB/DC funding and investment status data” at the same time. DC items cannot be satisfied by posting; they must be delivered by mailing, in-person sessions, or online training.
Nanum Consulting is still securing an instructor dedicated to this subject, so we do not currently deliver it on site. We can help you plan the year so it does not overlap with your other statutory trainings, through the checker and a consultation.
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Retirement pension training is calculated as 1 hour. If you bundle it with other subjects on the same day, the instructor fee is calculated as a single session.
Retirement Pension — FAQ
Does every company have to provide retirement pension training?
What is the fine for not providing retirement pension training?
Can we just post materials on a bulletin board for retirement pension training?
Who delivers retirement pension training?
View other mandatory training
Legal basis · Sources
- Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, Article 32 (Korea Law Information Center)
- Enforcement Decree of the same Act, Art. 32-2 (training methods)
- Article 48 of the same Act (fines)
The governing law, who is covered, hours, and fines may vary by workplace size, industry, and legal amendments. This page is general information to aid understanding. Please check the relevant laws and your local Ministry of Employment and Labor office to confirm how they apply to your workplace. .