How much can Korean service savings pay at maturity?
This calculator helps Korean military service personnel and their families plan monthly saving and the funds available after discharge.
It separates your own deposits, bank interest and government matching support, using Korea’s 2026 rules rather than a general international savings scheme.
Parents helping with payments can compare the same opening date, contractual service end date and confirmed bank rates with the person serving.
All amounts are in KRW and the two language interfaces use the same calculation functions.
Plan around the order of payments
An eventual total of about KRW 20 million does not mean one payment of that amount on discharge day.
The bank pays principal and interest at maturity closure; government support is settled separately afterward.
For tuition, a housing deposit or job-search costs, budget the bank proceeds and later support as different cash receipts.
The estimate assumes ordinary service, valid enrollment eligibility and the required closure documents.
It does not approve eligibility or reproduce a bank’s final settlement statement.
2026 contribution limits and matching rules
For deposits from 2025-01-01 onward, the combined monthly cap is KRW 550,000 across all financial institutions.
A bank’s individual monthly cap is KRW 300,000, so paying the full combined amount requires two banks.
Matching is 100% of eligible deposited principal, without matching the bank interest a second time.
2026 ordinary-service contribution, tax exemption and matching rules| Item | Rule |
|---|
| Monthly cap at each bank | KRW 300,000 |
| Combined monthly cap | KRW 550,000 |
| Eligible principal matching from 2024 | 100% |
| Remaining service at opening / supported term | 1–24 months |
| Opening deadline in the current exemption | 2026-12-31 |
Restriction of Special Taxation Act Article 91-19 provides interest exemption from eligible opening through the end of service, with a maximum 24-month exemption period.
Its Enforcement Decree Article 93-5 requires at least one calendar month of service remaining at opening and the eligibility confirmation documents.
An eligible account opened by the 2026 deadline may mature in 2027; the opening deadline and maturity year are different concepts.
This page does not assume an extension for newly opened accounts in 2027.
Why no separate government 1% interest is added
MMA guidance limits the additional 1% interest support to deposits made by 2023-12-31.
This planner covers 2025–2026 opening and payment scenarios, so it does not add that subsidy to bank interest.
The default 1% early-closure rate is a fictional bank-rate example, not government interest support.
Older deposits and their historical matching rates are outside this model.
Match the inputs to bank and service records
Entry, opening and maturity
Enter the actual enlistment or social-service entry date, followed by the savings opening and first-payment date.
Opening cannot precede service entry.
Use the bank contract’s scheduled discharge or release date for maturity.
If you opened two months after entering service, calculate the remaining savings period rather than the full service period.
Selecting a service type alone does not establish an official discharge date.
Planned maturity closure
This is the date you expect to close the matured account and collect bank principal and interest.
The matching reference month follows the actual closure month, not automatically the contractual maturity month.
The interface accepts closure dates up to one year after maturity as a planning range; this is not a statutory claim deadline.
Any separate interest after contractual maturity is excluded.
Bank A and B payments and rates
A and B identify two accounts without recommending banks.
If you use one bank, set the other monthly payment to zero.
Enter the contractual annual rate including only preferential conditions you actually meet.
The 5% default is fictional and is not a current highest-rate quote.
The model assumes both banks open on the same day and share the same monthly payment date; compare that assumption with your real accounts.
Skipped months and early closure
Enter months such as 2026-05 when both accounts received no deposit.
Those rows become zero, without carrying the unused limit into later months.
Partial payments or different skipped months at the two banks need a transaction-level settlement outside this simplified model.
Early comparison covers voluntary closure before service ends, using the bank’s actual early rate.
Select individual settlement for early discharge, interrupted service or a status change.
Interest and matching formulas
Monthly simple-interest approximation
Interest = monthly payment × n(n+1)/2 × annual rate/100 ÷ 12
The first payment is made at opening, then equal-period payments follow each month.
The first deposit earns for n modeled months and the last for one modeled month.
If a month is skipped, only that installment becomes zero; the remaining installments retain their own interest periods.
Partial calendar months are treated as full modeled periods, so this is not an exact bank settlement formula.
Actual-date simple-interest estimate
Interest = Σ(payment × annual rate/100 × elapsed days to maturity ÷ 365)
This mode uses calendar days from each planned payment to maturity.
The divisor is fixed at 365, without automatically switching to 366 in a leap year.
Monthly dates remain anchored to the original opening day: an opening on January 31 maps to February’s last day, then back to March 31.
Holiday transfer delays, bank day-count conventions, changing rate bands and tax truncation are not reproduced.
Use the actual bank maturity quote to confirm settlement.
Keep bank proceeds separate from support
Bank maturity proceeds = principal + tax-free bank interest
Matching support = eligible principal × 100%
Eventual estimated total = bank proceeds + separate matching support
Matching applies to the deposited principal.
Do not include bank interest in the matching base or assume support sits in the account earning bank interest during service.
Intermediate calculations retain decimals; only displayed amounts are rounded to whole KRW.
Individually rounded components may differ from a rounded total by about KRW 1.
How to use the calculator
- Select the service circumstances. Ordinary active-duty enlisted, full-time reserve and social service scenarios are supported.
Changed or interrupted service withholds results and needs agency settlement.
- Enter actual opening and contractual maturity dates. At least one calendar month of service must remain at opening.
If needed, use the discharge-date tool to explore a date, then confirm the official schedule.
- Enter each bank’s payment and confirmed rate. KRW 550,000 at one bank or KRW 600,000 combined blocks results.
Policy errors are shown rather than silently reducing your planned amounts.
- Select interest mode and skipped months. Leave the skipped list blank when no months were missed.
Actual-date mode explores calendar differences but still needs comparison with bank quotes.
- Review payment timing and early-closure effects. Check the support reference date following maturity closure.
Separate benefits forgone on existing deposits from future personal contributions you would no longer make.
- Save or print the review. The TXT includes inputs, rule-check date, bank amounts, omitted months and payment rows.
Compare it with real automatic-transfer settings and the closure-document checklist.
Worked example: 18 payments
Assume opening on 2026-01-06 and maturity on 2027-07-06 during ordinary service.
Bank A receives KRW 300,000 monthly and B receives KRW 250,000, both at a fictional annual 5%.
There are no missed months, and the monthly approximation includes 18 installments.
Principal, interest and later support
- Principal: KRW 550,000 × 18 = KRW 9,900,000
- Interest: KRW 550,000 × 171 × 5% ÷ 12 = KRW 391,875
- Bank maturity proceeds: KRW 10,291,875
- Matching paid later: KRW 9,900,000
- Eventual estimated total: KRW 20,191,875
The weight 171 equals 18×19÷2, and 5% is the decimal 0.05 in the arithmetic.
A earns KRW 213,750 and B earns KRW 178,125 in this approximation.
A deposit on maturity day is excluded, so the plan includes 18 payments, not 19.
Switching to actual dates changes interest because the calendar periods differ in length.
With 21 payments at the same monthly amount and fictional 5%, principal and matching are each KRW 11,550,000.
Monthly interest is KRW 529,375, bank proceeds are KRW 12,079,375 and the eventual total is KRW 23,629,375.
Always derive installments from actual opening and maturity dates rather than fixing them from the service-type label.
Splitting payments between two banks
KRW 300,000 plus KRW 250,000 uses the combined monthly cap.
Different bank rates change bank interest, while matching remains tied to each eligible deposited principal at the same percentage.
Do not assume a preferential rate when card spending or other required conditions are uncertain.
Verify the contractual rate you can actually obtain before comparing allocations.
Monthly two-bank payment examples and contribution-cap checks| Plan | Bank A | Bank B | Cap check |
|---|
| Full combined cap | KRW 300,000 | KRW 250,000 | Within KRW 550,000 |
| KRW 400,000 budget | KRW 200,000 | KRW 200,000 | Both within cap |
| One bank only | KRW 300,000 | KRW 0 | KRW 250,000 combined headroom |
| All at one bank | KRW 550,000 | KRW 0 | Individual cap exceeded |
Choose a sustainable monthly budget before attempting the maximum contribution.
Support is proportional to actual eligible deposits; the scheme does not require every participant to pay the maximum amount.
These are cap-check examples, not bank recommendations or guaranteed product returns.
Missed months and delayed maturity closure
A missed deposit reduces principal and matching
In the 18-payment example, skipping 2026-05 at both banks reduces principal and matching by KRW 550,000 each.
That installment has 14 modeled interest months remaining, reducing interest by about KRW 32,083.
The eventual total becomes KRW 19,059,792 after display rounding.
Part of this reduction is your own undeposited KRW 550,000, so the entire difference is not lost government support.
Unused monthly limits do not carry forward; revise the remaining regular-payment plan instead.
Support follows the actual closure month
Closure on the example maturity date, 2027-07-06, gives a support reference date of 2027-08-25.
If closure occurs on 2027-08-03 instead, the reference date becomes 2027-09-25.
Official guidance uses the preceding weekday when the 25th is a holiday; displayed dates are before public-holiday adjustment.
Confirm the actual closure processing date, documents and agency notice rather than assuming the month after discharge.
Keep the receiving account for each participating bank open for support payment.
What if you voluntarily close after 12 payments?
In the same example, assume voluntary closure on 2027-01-06 before service ends, with a fictional early annual rate of 1% at both banks.
The 12 installments before closure total KRW 6,600,000.
Use the bank’s actual early rate, including loss of preferential terms, rather than treating the example as a quote.
Early proceeds and the same-principal benefit difference
- Gross early interest: KRW 35,750
- Estimated 15.4% tax: KRW 5,505.5; net interest: KRW 30,244.5
- Displayed early bank proceeds: KRW 6,630,245
- Matching on voluntary closure during service: KRW 0
- Matching forgone on existing deposits: KRW 6,600,000
- Maturity interest on those deposits, KRW 343,750, less early net interest: displayed KRW 313,506
The matching and interest differences on already deposited principal total about KRW 6,913,506.
This compares nominal benefits through maturity without discounting or early-proceeds reinvestment.
Future personal contributions of KRW 3,300,000 are excluded from that benefit difference.
Subtracting early proceeds from the full eventual total would mix future own deposits with benefits forgone and exaggerate the meaning of the loss.
Restriction of Special Taxation Act Article 91-19(2) provides recovery of exempt income tax for early contract termination.
Military Service Act Enforcement Decree Article 158-2(2) excludes ordinary early termination from financial support.
The interest-tax estimate combines 14% under Income Tax Act Article 129 with local tax equal to 10% of that income tax under Local Tax Act Article 103-13, totaling 15.4%.
Bank tax truncation and final comprehensive income tax are outside this estimate.
Practical uses and cases requiring separate checks
Agree on a family payment budget
First agree on how much service pay and family support can sustain each month.
Two banks allow the KRW 550,000 combined and KRW 300,000 individual caps to be respected together.
A month-end automatic transfer may move to the next month because of holidays, affecting monthly limits; check bank rules.
This plan does not initiate transfers or verify that a scheduled payment happened.
Allocate funds after discharge
Use bank maturity proceeds for the cash expected around closure.
Matching needs evidence and separate settlement, so treat it as a later receipt until actually paid.
When comparing other youth savings accounts or ordinary deposits, check those programs’ current opening availability and eligibility separately.
The matching percentage here cannot be applied to other Korean youth savings programs.
Early release, service changes and interruptions
MMA guidance describes an exception allowing support after early social-service release and subsequent closure, with additional transaction records.
Tax exemption requires separate review, and deposits after the service end or during interrupted service may be excluded from matching.
A transition from active-duty to social service may take about 2–3 months for payment.
Therefore, a closure before the original contractual maturity does not establish zero support for every circumstance.
Choosing exceptional service in the interface withholds the estimate and directs you to the bank, MMA or defense finance office.
Alternative service, transitions to officer status and older deposit histories are also outside this simplified settlement model.
Frequently asked questions
Does matching include bank interest?
For deposits from 2024 onward, matching equals 100% of eligible principal.
It does not rematch bank interest or unpaid support.
This planner covers accounts opened from 2025 onward.
Can one bank receive KRW 550,000 each month?
No.
The individual bank cap is KRW 300,000, and the combined cap is KRW 550,000.
Set the unused bank to zero when using only one account.
Does one missed month cancel all support?
For ordinary service maintained to maturity, matching is based on actual eligible principal.
A skipped month reduces that installment’s principal, matching and interest rather than canceling every other deposit.
Unused limits do not carry forward.
Is all matching paid on discharge day?
Bank principal and interest are separate from matching.
The ordinary support reference date is the 25th of the month after actual maturity closure, or the preceding weekday if it is a holiday.
Confirm documents, accounts and processing.
Can a 2026 opening mature tax-free in 2027?
The current 2026-12-31 date is an opening deadline.
Eligibility, service end and savings-term conditions still apply.
Verify any extension separately for a newly opened account in 2027.
Should I add government interest of 1%?
MMA guidance restricts the separate 1% subsidy to deposits made by 2023-12-31.
It is not added to the 2025–2026 scenarios here.
The default 1% early rate is a fictional bank-rate assumption.
Is matching zero after early social-service release?
Not necessarily.
Special support procedures and additional documents may apply.
Post-release deposits, interruptions and status changes require agency settlement.
The calculator withholds results for exceptional service.
Why can bank interest differ from this estimate?
Partial-period approximation, actual deposit dates, preferential rates, fixed 365 day count, holiday transfers, tax truncation and post-maturity interest can differ.
Confirm final proceeds with the bank’s actual quote.
Official sources, updates and next steps
Rules were checked on 2026-10-06 using the National Law Information OPEN API.
The current Tax Act and decree are effective 2026-09-18, and the Military Service Act and decree are effective 2026-10-02.
For Income Tax Act Article 129 and Local Tax Act Article 103-13, the relevant article effective date is 2026-01-01, distinguished from later search-entry effective dates.
Bank terms support the account caps and maturity conditions; MMA guidance revised 2026-01-09 supports timing and exceptions.
Future maintainers should recheck new-2027-opening exemption extensions, contribution caps, matching percentages, actual payment processing and bank rates.
Turn the estimate into a payment and closure checklist
Enter actual dates and confirmed bank rates, then save the results and payment plan as TXT.
Check each bank’s automatic-transfer amount, preferential conditions, payment records and service-end evidence submission yourself.
Saving the review does not open an account, complete closure or submit a support application.