“There is no magic that gives more and takes more”… Na Kyung-won and Ahn Cheol-soo criticize the national pension reform proposal.

– Na Kyung-won and Ahn Cheol-soo, presenting pension reform alternatives
– While the pension reform bill has been passed to the National Assembly, criticism has emerged among ruling party insiders such as Na Kyung-won and Ahn Cheol-soo, stating that there is no magic formula to “pay a little more and receive a lot more.” They argue that the proposal from the National Assembly’s Pension Reform Special Committee for enhancing income security is not realistic, and suggest changing the structure from a fixed benefits (defined benefit) to a fixed contribution (defined contribution) system.
– Representative Na Kyung-won emphasized in an interview with Maeil Business Newspaper on the 6th that the core of the pension reform issue lies in the anxiety of future generations, and that reform should be conducted in a way that protects the pockets of future generations.
– In a recent Facebook post, Na Kyung-won mentioned the need to actively consider the “new pension” reform proposal announced by the Korea Development Institute (KDI), suggesting using accumulated insurance premiums for existing pensions and separately segregating funds for the new pension to alleviate the distrust of young people.
– The Pension Reform Special Committee’s proposal involves increasing the insurance premium rate from 9% to 13% and raising the income replacement rate from 40% to 50%, creating a structure of “pay more and receive more.” With this plan, the cumulative deficit over the next 70 years is expected to increase by 702 trillion won, and it is estimated that future generations will have to pay 35% of their monthly income as pension premiums by the year 2061.
– Representative Na stated that the solution to the national pension problem is inevitably linked to raising the birth rate and emphasized the need to enhance the benefits of the current “childbirth credit” policy applied to the national pension scheme for multi-child families.
– On the same day, Representative Ahn Cheol-soo proposed the alternative of the “Swedish-style fixed-contribution” reform to ensure pensions for the baby boom generation without burdening future generations with a debt bomb. In the Swedish system, individuals receive a pension each month based on the premiums they have paid plus an amount based on Sweden’s real economic growth rate.
– Ahn criticized the current reform approach of mechanically raising the income replacement rate to 50%, suggesting that transferring a heavy burden to future generations while increasing pension benefits for high-income earners could lead to unintended consequences. He argued for prioritizing concentrated support for vulnerable elderly populations to reduce high elderly poverty rates.
– Chairman Joo Ho-young and members of the Pension Reform Special Committee will attempt to reach a final agreement during their visit to European countries such as the United Kingdom and Sweden from the 8th to the 7th on a 5-night, 7-day schedule. However, there are strong criticisms that it is a last-minute overseas trip, with newcomer Cheon Ha-ram commenting on Facebook that exemplary international cases should have been examined much earlier as the 21st National Assembly nears its conclusion.