(Newsis Coverage of the Pension Future Forum) The Eligibility Criterion Left Unchanged, the Increase Only 30,000 Won… Neither “More at the Bottom” nor “Less at the Top” Satisfies [Basic Pension Overhaul ②] (2026.09.01.)

Ministry of Health and Welfare,

Unveils 2027 Basic Pension Overhaul Plan
"Abandons Structural Reform, Passes the Cost to the Next Generation"
"'More for the Lower, Less for the Upper' the Rationale—Spending Cuts the Real Prize"

Criticism is emerging that the government’s Basic Pension overhaul plan, unveiled after much deliberation, satisfies neither “more at the bottom” nor “less at the top.”

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Basic Pension overhaul plan released on the 1st, the current eligibility threshold, under which the bottom 70% of older people by income receive the pension, remains unchanged.

Instead, those eligible for the Basic Pension will again be divided by income level into three groups—0–30%, 30–45%, and 45–70%. The 0–30% group’s Basic Pension will be raised by 30,000 won, the 30–45% group’s will be raised in line with price indexation, and the 45–70% group will be frozen.

(Excerpt omitted)

However, this overhaul plan did not include a change to the eligibility threshold—what could be called the so-called ‘less at the top.’ On this point, a Ministry of Health and Welfare official said, “There have been various discussions about the current method,” but

added, “this affects a great many older people and is a matter that must be considered together with the National Pension within a multi-pillar framework, so it requires further discussion.”

Fiscal sustainability is one of the major issues facing the Basic Pension system.

The Basic Pension budget has surged from 6.9 trillion won in the first year of the program to 23.1 trillion won this year.

Given how rapidly Korea is aging in particular, there are even forecasts that if the current system is maintained, the Basic Pension budget could reach 114 trillion won by 2070.

If this overhaul plan is applied, the Basic Pension budget will require an additional 2.6 trillion won compared to this year.

Yoon Seok-myung, Research Fellow Emeritus at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, said, “The discussion of a Basic Pension overhaul began because the older population is growing and the program costs a great deal, yet its effect in alleviating elderly poverty is not large relative to the cost invested,” adding,

“The present overhaul plan is structured in a way that actually costs more; it is closer to a deterioration than an overhaul.”

Kim Dae-young, Chair of the Pension Future Forum’s Future Generations Network, also said, “They have abandoned the structural reform needed to help the poorest older people properly, while passing on nothing but its cost to the next generation,” adding,

“We cannot call it reform to hand tomorrow’s generation the bill for today’s votes.”

https://n.news.naver.com/article/003/0014161278?sid=102