Young people are expressing dissatisfaction with the national pension reform bill that passed the National Assembly on the 20th. They say that the burden of monthly contributions has increased this time, and there is a possibility that contributions will also rise in the future, making it disadvantageous for the 2030 generation, which has a relatively long contribution period.
A 30-something office worker, Jo Mo, said, "I feel like I will have to keep paying (national pension) contributions for more than 20 years, but the depletion point of the fund has only been postponed by 9 years," and noted, "In a few years, they will probably say to raise the contribution rate again." He added, "If this is the case, I’d rather want to withdraw from the national pension, but they don’t allow that either."
A 20-something office worker, Kim Mo, said, "I had thought it was not a big deal because the contributions were shared equally with my workplace," and added, "The contributions will go up, and I have to pay them for decades, which seems like quite a lot of money."
The national pension law amendment that passed the National Assembly that day contained provisions to increase the current contribution rate from 9% to 13% by raising it by 0.5 percentage points annually from next year until 2033. In return, the income replacement rate (the money received) will be raised from 41.5% this year to 43% next year, an increase of 1.5 percentage points. Under this scenario, assuming a 40-year-old worker who earns 3 million won a month pays contributions for 40 years, they would end up paying about 50 million won more and receiving about 20 million won more.
In response, young politicians also expressed negative views. Kim Jae-seob (37), a member of the People Power Party, stated, "This is not an agreement on reform, but a scheme by the older generation, who have taken political power, to exploit future generations," and added, "They have agreed to plunder future generations." He questioned, "Why should I pay more while you take more?" and stated, "I cannot agree to an arrangement that just attaches a respirator to a terminal national pension."
Lee Jun-seok (39), a member of the Reformist Party, said, "The politicians in their 60s are just buying about 10 years for themselves before they finish their political careers," and warned, "If this kind of reform continues, future generations will bear even more serious burdens."