Compare provider, custody, and product fees over 10 or 20 years, including discounts and switching-cost break-even.
The starting rates are fictional examples, not market averages. Replace them with your portal disclosure, fee schedule, and contract terms.
Lowest economic cost over your selected period
Alternative B
Best alternative’s 20-year economic advantage over the current provider
₩15,993,936
Payment mode: Deduct from the account · Same expected return: 5% · 20years
This isolates fees under an equal-return assumption. It does not guarantee returns or rank providers. Do not enter a fee twice if your published return is already net of that product or provider cost.
| Provider | Projected balance | Provider fees | Product costs | Fee drag | Lost compounding | Outside payment | Economic cost | Switch-cost break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★ Current provider | ₩302,699,293 | ₩13,084,215 | ₩9,571,895 | ₩33,694,483 | ₩11,038,373 | ₩0 | ₩33,694,483 | Baseline |
| Alternative A | ₩311,915,406 | ₩9,302,833 | ₩7,155,779 | ₩24,478,371 | ₩8,019,759 | ₩0 | ₩24,478,371 | 11 mo. |
| Alternative B | ₩318,693,229 | ₩5,964,763 | ₩5,936,826 | ₩17,700,547 | ₩5,798,958 | ₩0 | ₩17,700,547 | 7 mo. |
★ marks the current provider. Balances reflect product costs and any fees deducted from the account.
Current provider · 20years
₩302,699,293
Alternative A · 20years
₩311,915,406
Alternative B · 20years
₩318,693,229
| Expected return | Current provider | Alternative A | Alternative B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | ₩229,900,971 | ₩236,540,571 | ₩241,418,129 |
| 5% | ₩302,699,293 | ₩311,915,406 | ₩318,693,229 |
| 7% | ₩401,841,544 | ₩414,636,322 | ₩424,055,193 |
A retirement-plan fee may look minor in a one-year statement, but the amount removed today can no longer earn returns in later years. The long-run cost therefore includes both the cash fee and the compounding that the removed money could have produced. This calculator separates plan administration fees, asset custody fees, and product total expenses, then compares each provider with a no-fee reference balance.
Every provider receives the same expected return before fees. That equal-return assumption deliberately isolates the fee structure, discount start date, and one-time switching cost. The starting provider names and rates are fictional examples, not market averages or claims about any financial institution. Replace them with figures from your own disclosure, fee schedule, and contract before using the result.
Provider fees do not always leave a Korean retirement account balance. Under the current Enforcement Decree of the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, the employer generally bears administration and asset-management fees related to ordinary employer contributions in a defined-contribution plan, while the participant bears fees related to additional participant contributions. An individual retirement pension arrangement or a specific contract may work differently, so the payer must be confirmed rather than inferred from the plan label alone.
Choose this mode when provider fees reduce the retirement balance, as they may for an IRP or participant-funded extras. Both provider fees and product expenses reduce the account. The result captures the direct deductions and the later growth that those deductions can no longer earn.
Choose this mode when provider fees are paid outside the retirement balance. The calculator tracks them as an economic cost but does not subtract them from the account. Product total expenses still reduce the invested balance because they are reflected in the underlying product’s net asset value.
Who pays a fee and whether a published return is already net of that fee are separate questions. If the return entered in the calculator already reflects a product expense or provider fee, entering the same cost again will double count it. Ask the provider for a gross-versus-net explanation when the disclosure is unclear.
Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor announced expanded provider-level statistics in the Integrated Pension Portal in 2026. The comparison set includes total fee cost, plan administration fees, asset custody fees, and fund total cost alongside plan-type statistics. Portal data is a useful starting point, but the rate that applies to your own asset tier, employer contract, or long-service discount may appear only in the provider’s detailed fee schedule.
| Calculator field | Disclosure wording | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Plan administration fee | Administration or operation-management rate | Annual rate, plan type, and balance tier. |
| Asset custody fee | Asset-management or custody rate | The balance base and billing interval. |
| Product total expense | Fund total cost or total expense ratio | A holding-weighted rate may be needed for several products. |
| Discount and start year | Long-service, asset-tier, or employer-size reduction | Whether it applies only to provider fees and when eligibility begins. |
| Switching cost | Liquidation, early termination, or sales cost | Costs outside the headline provider fee schedule. |
When the account holds several products, a practical estimate is the sum of each product’s total expense multiplied by its current portfolio weight. A portfolio that is 60% in a 0.20% product and 40% in a 0.50% product has a weighted product expense of 0.32%. Run current and planned allocations separately if a major portfolio change is likely.
The annual contribution is divided into 12 equal monthly deposits. Each month, the model adds the deposit, applies the compound-equivalent monthly return, and then calculates provider and product costs from the post-growth balance. A discount beginning in year six starts in month 61. The discount is a relative reduction in administration plus custody fees; it does not reduce the product expense.
The no-fee reference balance minus the actual projected balance. It includes account deductions and the future growth those deductions could no longer earn.
Fee drag minus cumulative fees deducted from the account. This component can become a larger share of the total cost as the horizon lengthens.
Provider fees paid by an employer or another party. They do not reduce the account in outside-payment mode but remain part of the economic-cost comparison.
The first month in which the alternative’s balance advantage plus outside-fee savings reaches the one-time switching cost. No recovery within 40 years is shown explicitly.
The engine keeps full numerical precision during the monthly simulation and rounds only displayed won amounts. The no-fee reference receives the same deposits and gross return but no provider or product deductions. Sensitivity rows rerun the entire selected horizon at the base return, two percentage points lower, and two percentage points higher; they are not forecasts.
Select account deduction, enter the current IRP balance and contribution plan, and copy the current and alternative schedules. Compare the balance gap and recovery month with the time remaining before retirement. Also check whether existing products can transfer in kind or must be sold, because liquidation terms may matter more than the headline transfer fee.
Select outside payment when the employer bears provider fees on ordinary employer contributions. Provider costs will be tracked without reducing participant balances. Use the output as one cost worksheet for a plan committee, then review investment menus, service quality, participant support, risk controls, and contractual obligations separately.
Enter the pre-discount provider rates, relative discount, and exact start year. A large discount can still arrive too late to offset earlier higher charges or a costly product menu. If leaving later requires repayment of past discounts, include the possible clawback in switching cost and rerun the scenario.
Only within the calculator’s equal-return and equal-portfolio assumption. Real decisions may also depend on available products, service, advice, risk controls, convenience, and whether performance differences are persistent. Treat the lowest economic cost as a screening result, not a complete ranking.
Not safely unless you know what the all-in figure contains. If it already includes administration and custody charges, entering those rates again will double count them. Prefer a source that separates provider and product costs, or ask the provider for the component breakdown.
Fixed 10-year and 20-year snapshots make long-run fee effects comparable across sessions. Your selected horizon drives the main table and chart, while the break-even search continues independently for up to 40 years.
No. It isolates provider and product fees. Tax credits, pension-income tax, early withdrawals, annuitization, guaranteed-product rates, and investment-allocation changes are outside the model. Use dedicated tax and payout tools for those decisions.
Yes, from -50% to 50% annually. The simplified model continues to charge percentage fees on the remaining balance. It does not model a contractual minimum charge or special loss-year rule, so verify any such term in the fee schedule.
This page is specifically framed around the Republic of Korea’s retirement-pension system. Article 29-2 of the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act requires administration and asset-management fees to be set reasonably with regard to work costs and investment results. Article 33 covers annual disclosure of returns and fees. Article 10 of the Enforcement Decree distinguishes the payer for ordinary employer DC contributions from additional participant contributions, and Article 24-2 addresses fee-setting criteria and reductions.
Actual charges may use daily or monthly average balances, contract-level tiers, different billing dates, product weights, employer discounts, or special eligibility terms. The model does not guarantee investment returns, recommend a provider, or provide investment, tax, or legal advice. Before transferring, obtain written confirmation of the applicable rates, payer, product-transfer treatment, and one-time costs from the provider and employer.
Place the portal disclosure and contract beside the calculator, enter the actual rates and payer, and compare the cost of staying with the recovery period for switching. Save the output as a question list for the provider or your employer’s plan team.