Due to Soaring House Prices, 280,000 Households in Seoul and Gyeonggi Cannot Receive 'Jutaek Yeongeum' (Housing Pension)

Kim Eun-hye, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] As housing prices have surged, it has been revealed that about 280,000 households have been excluded from the Housing Pension program. There are calls to relax the Housing Pension criteria so that people who only have a house without a fixed income can replace their retirement income with their home.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Kim Eun-hye, a member of the People Power Party, the number of apartments with a publicly announced price exceeding 900 million won more than doubled in Seoul, from 199,646 households in 2019 to 406,167 households in 2021. In Gyeonggi-do, the number increased about ninefold, from 8,835 households to 81,842 households in 2021.

The problem is that if the publicly announced price exceeds 900 million won, the property is excluded from the Housing Pension program. The Housing Pension is available to anyone who owns a home with a publicly announced price of 900 million won or less, regardless of whether they own one or multiple homes, based on the combined price for couples. It can be applied for from age 55, and the structure allows receiving a pension under the condition of returning the house over 10 to 30 years. For a publicly announced price of 900 million won, a 55-year-old receives 1.44 million won per month, and a 70-year-old receives 2.67 million won. The Housing Pension is used as retirement income for retirees who have no other income besides the National Pension.

However, under the current government, as housing prices have risen and publicly announced prices have been adjusted to reflect reality, about 280,000 households are unable to receive such benefits. Furthermore, since the Housing Pension applies not only to apartments but also to detached houses, villas, and residential officetels, Kim believes that even more people have been excluded from the benefits. Representative Kim Eun-hye said, “The government’s ‘policy failure’ that caused real estate prices to skyrocket has resulted in a ‘welfare failure’ that pushes ordinary people out of welfare targets,” adding, “We must urgently relax the housing price criteria for eligibility, considering ordinary people who are becoming house-poor and the elderly.”

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