What employees get, and how HR should explain it
Step 1 / 4·Pension: the floor drops to 15 years
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Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Explain the change in pension eligibility
- Advise employees weighing a lump-sum withdrawal
- Know the unemployment insurance side of the Employment Law 2025
Pension: the floor drops to 15 years
Understand the change that matters most to employees.
Previously, a monthly pension required at least 20 years of social insurance contributions. That was a very high bar for people who entered the workforce late, whose contribution history had gaps, or who moved from the informal to the formal sector in mid-life. Many looked at the number 20 and concluded 'I will never get there', then withdrew their lump sum.
The 2024 law lowers the minimum contribution period for a monthly pension to 15 YEARS. This is a policy turning point: it opens the pension door for a very large group previously excluded from the system.
What HR must be clear about when advising
Fifteen years is the condition for BECOMING eligible for a pension, not the optimal amount to contribute. The longer the contribution period, the higher the replacement rate. Lowering the floor to 15 years widens the entrance; it does not mean 15 years is where to stop.
Key takeaway: The minimum contribution period for a pension drops from 20 to 15 years — a wider entrance, not a target.