The Democratic Party of Korea special committee on pension reform has begun discussions on overhauling the basic pension system. The special committee on pension reform said it will review the sustainability of the current criterion of paying the "bottom 70% by income" and examine the payment scope.
The Democratic Party of Korea special committee on pension reform held a meeting at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 25th to discuss directions for overhauling retirement pensions and the basic pension. Lawmaker Nam In-soon, who serves as the special committee Chairperson, said in opening remarks that "the basic pension is being paid to older adults in the bottom 70% by income, but with the population aged 65 or older exceeding 10 million and the share of those 65 and older surpassing 20%, we have entered a super-aged society," adding, "with the number of beneficiaries increasing to 7.79 million in 2026 and the fiscal burden growing rapidly, we can no longer delay the task of clarifying the role of the basic pension and systematically redesigning its relationship with the basic livelihood guarantee and the National Pension."
Lawmaker Park Hee-seung, who joined the special committee, said, "Pension reform cannot be achieved by changing just one system," adding, "to build a seamless, multi-layered old-age income security system that complements and drives each part, we need to comprehensively review the objectives, functions, coherence and fairness of each pension, including a basic pension overhaul, a restructuring of the National Pension, and the fund-type management of retirement pensions."
The special committee on pension reform said it will maintain the "bottom 70% by income" criterion for existing beneficiaries while reviewing, through fiscal projections and simulations and through social consensus, whether to adjust it step by step for future applicants. Oh Ki-hyeong, who serves as a secretary, told reporters right after the meeting about the basic pension, "There are already people receiving benefits, so it is difficult to change the bottom 70% by income criterion right away, but we need to think about how to design the criteria for people who will newly become eligible for the basic pension going forward." He added, "We need various detailed data such as fiscal projections and population distribution," and said, "The National Assembly will discuss it at the National Assembly level, the government at the government level, and we will request the necessary data from the government."
However, there was no specific mention of when a bill would be prepared. Oh said, "It is difficult to speak concretely at this stage," adding, "We will build understanding through one or two meetings or public debates each month."
Meanwhile, the meeting also discussed overhauling retirement pensions and strengthening the National Pension's stewardship code. The special committee plans to lay an institutional foundation, through an amendment to the National Pension Act, so that the National Pension can lead responsible investment by institutional investors and corporations. In addition, as the labor-management-government task force released a joint declaration on the 9th that included "vitalizing fund-type retirement pensions" and "mandating external reserves for retirement benefits," the special committee on pension reform will push follow-up legislation such as amending the Act on the Guarantee of Employees' Retirement Benefits based on this agreement, and will also review plans to gradually expand fund-type retirement pensions and improve their management structure.