In Korean workplace retirement-pension documents, DB describes a defined-benefit plan, DC a defined-contribution plan, and IRP an individual retirement-pension account. First identify which arrangement your employer uses and which provider holds the records. The letters alone do not tell you your current balance or what you can withdraw.
Checked October 18, 2026. This is a terminology and document-checking guide. It does not recommend an investment or calculate a retirement payment.
DB: the retirement benefit is defined
MOEL's official retirement-pension explanation describes 확정급여형, DB, as a plan where the worker's retirement benefit is determined in advance and the employer manages the accumulated funds under its responsibility. A provider's investment result is therefore not simply a personal DC-style account return to apply to your salary.
Ask HR which DB plan covers you, who the provider is, what service period is recorded, and where you can obtain the plan information or benefit explanation. If an estimate is supplied, ask which wage and service figures it uses. Keep its calculation date; a future payment can depend on facts that have not yet occurred.
DC: the contribution is defined
The same MOEL page describes 확정기여형, DC, as a plan with a predetermined employer contribution, while the worker manages the invested retirement assets and receives the accumulated amount and investment results. That difference explains why a DC notice may ask you to make choices about the account.
Request a statement showing contributions, the period each payment covers, account valuation date, holdings, and charges. Distinguish money contributed from investment gains or losses. If a contribution seems missing, ask HR to explain the contribution schedule and ask the provider what it has actually received.
Do not select a product solely because a colleague reports a high return. Read its risk, fees, and withdrawal conditions, and ask the provider for an explanation you understand. Where translation is needed, verify important terms against the provider's actual document.
IRP: an individual account used with retirement money
MOEL explains 개인형퇴직연금, IRP, as an account for bringing together retirement benefits received when moving jobs or retiring. An IRP account and the employer's DB or DC plan serve different roles; having one does not establish that every expected employer payment has arrived.
If HR asks for an IRP account, confirm the purpose, required account type, provider instructions, and the name/account details to supply. Ask the provider about your situation before opening, transferring, closing, or withdrawing. Tax treatment, fees, and payment restrictions should be checked for the actual transaction rather than inferred from the word “retirement.”
Keep National Pension separate in your records
A 국민연금 line on a payslip concerns the National Pension scheme. It is not a DB/DC account statement. Our guide to Korean payslip deductions helps identify that monthly payroll line. Keep National Pension records and workplace retirement-pension records under their own names so questions reach the right institution.
Use a simple private checklist: legal employer, plan type, provider, membership/account identifier, recorded service, latest statement date, and unresolved question. Ask HR about employer records and the financial provider about account records.
If the two answers conflict, send the same specific discrepancy to both contacts: for example, the contribution period HR says was paid and the provider statement that does not show it. For a disputed employment entitlement, request MOEL guidance with your contract and service dates.
MOEL's live DB/DC/IRP explanation checked October 18, 2026; the page displays no publication date. No investment return, withdrawal eligibility, or individual tax outcome is assumed here.
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