Prohibition on Garnishing Retirement Benefits, Etc.
Prohibition on garnishing retirement benefits- One half of retirement benefits, both on a lump-sum and annuity basis, and other receivables of similar types are protected from garnishment by creditors (Civil Execution Act, Article 246, Paragraph 1, Item 4, main clause and Item 5).
- If the amount protected from garnishment is less than a certain minimum amount, determined based on the minimum cost of living, or more than a set amount based on the standard cost of living for a household, the following amounts according to the income bracket will be applied (Civil Execution Act, Article 246, Paragraph 1, Item 4, proviso; Enforcement Decree of the Civil Execution Act, Articles 3 and 4):
|
Retirement benefits |
Amount protected from garnishment |
|
Less than KRW 3 million monthly |
KRW 1.85 million monthly |
|
Between KRW 3 million and 6 million monthly |
½ of the monthly annuity |
|
More than KRW 6 million monthly |
KRW 3 million + (½ of the monthly annuity ― KRW 3 million) x 1/2 |
Prohibition of transfer of retirement benefits or assignment as collateral- Retirement plan (including the SME retirement pension fund plan) receivablesmay not be transferred or seized or assigned as collateral (Article 7(1) of the Act on the Guarantee of Employees’ RetirementBenefits).
- However, the assignment of retirement plan receivables as collateral is exceptionally allowed for certain cases including the purchase of a home by the enrollee (Act on the Guarantee of Workers’ Retirement Benefits, Article 7, Paragraph 2).