Sign up for Korea's housing pension (jutaek yeongeum, a state-guaranteed reverse mortgage) on or after March 1, 2026, and a couple whose younger spouse is 70, holding a home valued at 300 million won, receives 923,000 won every month for life. The same home pays 758,000 won at age 65 and 1,449,000 won at 80.
Two variables set the payment: age and home value. They behave differently. Home value scales the payment exactly — up to a point, after which it stops. Age climbs in steps of 20 to 35% every five years. Lay both out as tables and the question of when to enroll turns into arithmetic.
What five years of age is worth
The table below pulls the 300 million won column from the payment examples published by the Korea Housing Finance Corporation, effective March 1, 2026, for general housing on the lifetime fixed-amount plan. Age refers to the younger spouse. The per-100-million figures and the five-year growth rates are calculated from those published numbers.
| Age at enrollment | Monthly payment (won) | Per 100m won of value | Increase vs 5 years earlier (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | 468,000 | 156,000 | — |
| 60 | 632,000 | 210,700 | 35.0 |
| 65 | 758,000 | 252,700 | 19.9 |
| 70 | 923,000 | 307,700 | 21.8 |
| 75 | 1,143,000 | 381,000 | 23.8 |
| 80 | 1,449,000 | 483,000 | 26.8 |
The jump from 55 to 60 is 35%; after that the steps settle near 20% before widening again past 70. Shorter remaining life expectancy means the same collateral can be spread over fewer months.
Is waiting five years worth it? The break-even age
A rising payment alone does not make late enrollment better, because five years of forgone payments accumulate first. Holding home value at 300 million won, the table below shows how long the larger monthly payment takes to erase the head start of enrolling five years earlier. This is a simple cumulative comparison, ignoring interest, guarantee fees and changes in home value.
| Comparison | 5-year head start (10k won) | Monthly gap (won) | Time to catch up | Crossover age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 vs 60 | 2,808 | 164,000 | 14.3 years | 74.3 |
| 60 vs 65 | 3,792 | 126,000 | 25.1 years | 90.1 |
| 65 vs 70 | 4,548 | 165,000 | 23.0 years | 93.0 |
| 70 vs 75 | 5,538 | 220,000 | 21.0 years | 96.0 |
| 75 vs 80 | 6,858 | 306,000 | 18.7 years | 98.7 |
Take 60 against 65. Enrolling at 60 banks 37.92 million won over five years, and the 65-year-old's extra 126,000 won a month needs 25.1 years to close it — meaning the later entrant only pulls ahead past age 90. The crossover is 93 for the 65-versus-70 pair and 96 for 70 versus 75. The exception is 55 versus 60, where the 35% step is largest and the crossover arrives at 74.3.
The payment rises about 20% every five years, but recovering the five years you did not collect takes more than twenty.
Where a more valuable home stops raising the payment
Read the published table sideways and a second pattern appears. Payments track home value exactly, then stop — and the stopping point moves with age.
| Age | Per 100m won (won) | Proportional up to | Capped payment (won) | At a 1.2bn won home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 210,700 | 1.2bn won | Cap not reached | 2,528,000 |
| 65 | 252,700 | 1.2bn won | Cap not reached | 3,035,000 |
| 70 | 307,700 | 1.1bn won | 3,414,000 | 3,414,000 |
| 75 | 381,000 | 900m won | 3,666,000 | 3,666,000 |
| 80 | 483,000 | 800m won | 4,060,000 | 4,060,000 |
An 80-year-old with an 800 million won home draws 3,865,000 won a month; at 900 million or 1.2 billion the figure stops at 4,060,000. For a 75-year-old the line falls at 900 million, and for a 70-year-old at 1.1 billion. The older the applicant, the sooner the cap bites — so an older household holding an expensive home recovers proportionally less against its collateral, and the product deserves comparison against other retirement-income routes.
One distinction matters here. Eligibility requires one spouse aged 55 or over and a combined government-assessed value of 1.2 billion won or less; multiple-home owners qualify if the combined assessed value stays under that line, and two-home owners above it can enroll on condition of disposing of one within three years. The monthly payment, however, is computed from the value of the pledged home itself. What that 1.2 billion assessed-value line means elsewhere in the tax code is covered in the 1.2 billion won single-home deduction under the comprehensive real estate tax.
The March reform: 1.0% upfront, 0.95% annually
Under the 2026 housing pension reform announced by the Financial Services Commission, three things changed for applicants from March 1. At the average entry age of 72 with a 400 million won home, the monthly payment rose from 1,297,000 to 1,338,000 won, about 3.13%. The initial guarantee fee fell from 1.5% of home value to 1.0%, and the refund window widened from three years to five. In exchange, the annual guarantee fee rose from 0.75% to 0.95% of the loan balance.
The upfront saving scales with home value:
| Home value | Former 1.5% (10k won) | New 1.0% (10k won) | Saving (10k won) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300m won | 450 | 300 | 150 |
| 400m won | 600 | 400 | 200 |
| 500m won | 750 | 500 | 250 |
| 700m won | 1,050 | 700 | 350 |
| 1.2bn won | 1,800 | 1,200 | 600 |
The annual fee runs the other way, since it is charged on the loan balance and that balance only grows. Converting the 0.2 percentage point increase:
| Loan balance | Former 0.75% (10k won/yr) | New 0.95% (10k won/yr) | Annual increase (10k won) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50m won | 37.5 | 47.5 | 10.0 |
| 100m won | 75.0 | 95.0 | 20.0 |
| 200m won | 150.0 | 190.0 | 40.0 |
| 300m won | 225.0 | 285.0 | 60.0 |
On a 400 million won home the saving at entry is 2 million won, but once the balance reaches 100 million the household pays an extra 200,000 won a year. Because the balance climbs as payments accumulate, the reform cuts both ways depending on how long the pension runs. Short use with a possible early exit favours the lower upfront fee and the five-year refund window; twenty years or more of drawing compounds the higher annual fee.
Three more changes from June
The same package sets three items from June 1. First, the preferential tier now covers homes valued under 180 million won, adding about 31,000 won a month for a 77-year-old applicant. Second, an exception to the owner-occupancy requirement lets applicants qualify while living in a care facility or undergoing treatment. Third, a child aged 55 or over who inherits the same home can continue the pension without repaying the parent's outstanding balance.
The payout structures themselves are unchanged. As summarized by Korea's Easy Law portal, alongside the lifetime plan there are fixed-term, loan-repayment and preferential plans, each split between a flat monthly amount and a front-loaded option paying more for the first ten years. Every figure above assumes general housing on the lifetime flat plan; senior welfare housing and residential officetels pay less on identical terms. At age 70 with a 300 million won property: 923,000 won for general housing, 789,000 for senior welfare housing, 746,000 for a residential officetel.
What to check
- The younger spouse's age — payments are set by the younger spouse, not the older. If your spouse is several years younger, read a row further up the table.
- Assessed value versus appraised value — eligibility is judged on combined government-assessed value of 1.2 billion won or less; the payment is computed from the pledged home's value. Assume the two numbers differ.
- Property type — senior welfare housing and residential officetels pay less than general housing at the same age and value. Confirm the registered use first.
- Whether the cap applies — at 70 or older with a home above roughly 800 million to 1.1 billion won, the payment may already sit in the range where added value changes nothing.
- Expected duration — the March reform traded a lower upfront fee for a higher annual one. Decide how long you expect to draw before comparing.
- Enrolled before March 1 — the raised payments apply to new applicants. Whether existing holders are covered has to be confirmed with the corporation directly.