(2022 Interview) "Obligations Stand at 2,500 Trillion Won While Reserves Total Only 920 Trillion — National Pension Reform Is Urgent"

— What is the current financial condition of the National Pension?

"The National Pension Fund currently exceeds 920 trillion won in reserves. However, this figure represents only the tip of the iceberg above the waterline; submerged beneath it lies 2,500 trillion won in future benefit obligations already promised to National Pension contributors. This implies a shortfall of more than 1,500 trillion won. Germany, Sweden, and Norway have transitioned to systems in which contributors receive benefits commensurate with what they have paid in, whereas Korea operates under a defined benefit (DB) structure that guarantees a fixed level of benefits (the National Pension is structured so that recipients can expect to receive roughly twice the value of their lifetime contributions). The National Pension's implicit debt (unfunded liability) is growing at a rate of more than 400 billion won per day. Without pension reform, the National Pension's cumulative deficit is projected to reach 17,000 trillion won by 2088, approximately the time when those born in 1990 will have passed away."

https://www.kmib.co.kr/article/view.asp?arcid=0924229329