Lee Floats 'Basic Pension Overhaul,' but Reform Deliberations Expected to Take Time (2026.03.19.)
- #연금특위
Son Ho-jun, Director of Pension Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated the previous day
"that concerns have been raised that the current structure, in which wealthy older adults and low-income older adults receive identical benefits, undermines the policy objective of alleviating elderly poverty,
and that the practice of uniformly reducing benefits for married couples regardless of income level has also been identified as an irrational feature of the program."
He further indicated that "the government will pursue institutional improvements aimed at better fulfilling the policy objective of the Basic Pension, and will strengthen old-age income security for low-income populations."
Jeong Eun-kyeong, Minister of Health and Welfare, also affirmed that "she agrees that low-income populations must be more robustly protected in order to address the problem of elderly poverty."
The ruling party has likewise formalized discussion of institutional reform. The Democratic Party of Korea's Special Committee on Pension Reform convened on the 25th of last month to deliberate on measures to gradually narrow the scope of Basic Pension eligibility and concentrate benefits on low-income populations.
However, given that amendments to the relevant legislation will be required, the actual implementation of such institutional changes is expected to take considerable time. The Special Committee is expected to commence substantive deliberations following the local elections.
Yoon Seok-myeong, Honorary Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA),
noted that "now that discussions on Basic Pension reform have commenced, it is necessary to consider a measure that would set the benefit threshold at 150% of the minimum cost of living (currently approximately 1.23 million won) with a view to eliminating absolute elderly poverty,"
adding that "it would be possible to utilize fiscal resources more efficiently while strengthening support for vulnerable populations."
https://n.news.naver.com/article/079/0004126483?sid=102
