The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) announced Tuesday that health insurance subscribers will be billed for the April premium along with a year-end settlement reflecting changes in 2025 wages. The annual settlement system adjusts workers' health insurance premiums every April to match the actual compensation they received the previous year.
As a result, more than 10 million salaried workers whose wages or pay grades increased last year will pay an average of about 220,000 won in additional health insurance premiums per person.
For public convenience, the NHIS has applied the National Tax Service's simplified payment statement (earned income) to all workplaces starting this year, automatically processing the year-end settlement. This enabled automatic settlement for 10.2 million people, or about 61 percent of the 16.71 million salaried subscribers subject to last year's settlement.
The total settlement amount reached 3.7064 trillion won, up about 10 percent from 3.3687 trillion won the previous year. Among the 16.71 million salaried subscribers, 2.81 million had the same compensation as the previous year. Another 3.55 million saw their compensation decrease and will receive an average refund of 115,000 won per person, while the remaining 10.35 million will pay an additional average of 219,000 won per person due to higher compensation.
The settlement premium will be billed as a lump sum included in the April premium, and employers can apply to the NHIS for installment payments (up to 12 times) by May 11, the April premium payment deadline. Workplaces using automatic transfer must apply at least two business days before the payment deadline.
However, installment payment applications are only available when the additional premium to be paid through the year-end settlement exceeds the current month's premium.
"The year-end settlement is a system that imposes accurate premiums based on the compensation workers received from their workplaces the previous year," said Won In-myung, standing director of collection at the NHIS. "If workplaces promptly report changes in monthly compensation to the NHIS due to wage increases or pay grade promotions, the burden of additional payments from the year-end settlement can be significantly reduced."
Last year, of the 16.56 million total subscribers, 10.3 million with increased compensation paid an average of 203,555 won in additional premiums. Meanwhile, 3.53 million whose compensation decreased received an average refund of 117,181 won, while the remaining 2.73 million saw no change and were not subject to settlement.
