기초연금의 딜레마: 보편적 복지의 신화인가, 타겟형 복지의 실리인가 > K-wave Trends

The core debate over basic pension reform starts from the point that the current standard of ‘70% benefit rate’ itself has lost its policy validity. Although the overall income level of the elderly has increased dramatically compared to when the system was first introduced, there are many voices saying that it is still inefficient to stick to the 70% ratio of the total. In fact, experts advise that the 70% figure, which was a product of political compromise, should be abolished and the target of supply and demand should be refined more precisely by linking it to the standard median income. If we neglect the structure in which welfare budgets flow to owners of expensive homes or high-income seniors, the amount of money that will go to the extremely poor seniors who desperately need government support will inevitably decrease. Under this recognition, the government and academia are seeking a shift in the direction of focusing greater benefits on low-income seniors by strengthening the 'lower-lower-higher' structure.

However, there is also considerable caution that such attempts at reform should not lead to an unconditional reduction in the size of beneficiaries. Korea's elderly poverty rate is the highest among OECD countries, and the basic pension serves as a lifeline for many elderly people in a situation where public transfer income is insufficient. If the standards for supply and demand are unreasonably strengthened and a large number of elderly people on the border of the poverty line are eliminated, a paradoxical situation may arise in which the elderly poverty rate worsens. Therefore, the argument that the main purpose of basic pension reform should be not the numerical goal of financial savings, but strengthening coverage to minimize blind spots while increasing the rationality of the system is gaining strength. In other words, the core of the discussion is that qualitative improvements that substantially increase the amount of support for the poor should be made in parallel, rather than simply reducing the number of beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, the government is also carrying out a policy to encourage working seniors to work, through complementary measures such as easing the national pension reduction system. The structure of reducing pensions if income exceeds a certain level has acted as a major psychological and economic obstacle for the elderly who want to continue economic activities after retirement. Accordingly, the government is focusing on increasing administrative efficiency, such as expanding the scope of income deductions to preserve actual retirement income and simplifying the basic pension application process. This is interpreted as a strategic move to go beyond simply paying allowances and seek to harmonize the national pension and basic pension by creating an environment in which the elderly can remain in the labor market. Ultimately, basic pension reform is a complex task that cannot be completed without organic combination with the national pension and other social safety nets.

In the process of system reform, detailed consideration for occupational pension recipients and complex stakeholders is also a variable that cannot be ignored. As there are vulnerable groups who cannot exceed the poverty line even if they receive public pensions, the practice of excluding basic pensions simply based on receipt of occupational pensions needs to be reconsidered. In addition, the theory of gradual reform, such as 'applying lower, upper, lower rates to future increases' mentioned by President Lee Jae-myung, is evaluated as a realistic alternative that can bring about changes in the system while minimizing opposition from existing recipients. However, there are many who point out that this passive reform alone is difficult to handle the explosive increase in national finances as we enter a super-aging society. Ultimately, the National Assembly and the government must, through sufficient social consensus, finalize a mid- to long-term roadmap that can practically solve the problem of elderly poverty while taking into account the burden on future generations.