Minister Jung Eun-kyeong of the Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 18th that it is necessary to strengthen basic pension coverage, focusing on low-income groups, to ease elderly poverty.
The Minister said at the National Assembly Special Committee on Pension Reform that she agrees with the direction when People Power Party lawmaker Kim Yong-tae asked, Do you agree with the principle of basic pension "more for those with less, less for those with more" presented by the president?
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the basic pension is currently paid to about 7.07 million people, or 70% of all older adults. As of this year, those eligible are single-person households with recognized income of 2.47 million won or less. President Lee Jae-myung noted on X (formerly Twitter), The basic pension amount is the same for an older adult with monthly income of several million won and an older adult with no income at all, adding, It might be an option to apply the "more for those with less, less for those with more" principle only when increasing the amount going forward—what do you think?
On whether to push for a basic pension increase, the Minister said, For now, we are prioritizing an increase in line with the inflation rate, adding, If there is an additional increase, we are reviewing ways to strengthen protection for low-income groups by applying the "more for those with less, less for those with more" principle.
The Minister said, We plan to conduct fiscal estimates after preparing various reform plans, including payment criteria and benefit levels, adding, Specific system design is currently under review.