President Lee Proposes Reform of Basic Pension Couple’s Reduction System; Ruling Party Seeks Solutions

20% Reduction for Low-Income Elderly Couples
Byungdo Han: "Measures Needed to Uphold the Purpose"

Byungdo Han, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News

Byungdo Han, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated on the 17th, "The Basic Pension is the minimum social safety net that preserves the dignity of the elderly. The Democratic Party will uphold the purpose of the Basic Pension and seek to improve and supplement any shortcomings through enhanced measures."

Floor Leader Han, speaking at a party policy meeting at the National Assembly that morning, said, "President Jaemyung Lee mentioned the need to reform the couple’s reduction system for the Basic Pension." He explained, "This system reduces the pension by 20% for each spouse if both members of an elderly couple in the bottom 70% income bracket receive the Basic Pension."

He added, "While this measure was intended to address fairness with single-person elderly households and manage fiscal burdens, in reality, it led to a decrease in income, making the actual lives of low-income elderly couples more difficult." He continued, "As President Lee pointed out, some couples even resort to fake divorces to avoid pension reductions."

Floor Leader Han emphasized, "Even a good system is meaningless if it fails to reflect reality," and noted, "A bill for the gradual abolition of the couple’s reduction system has already been submitted to the National Assembly."

Previously, on the day before, President Lee shared a news article on X (formerly Twitter) about the government’s plan to gradually phase out the Basic Pension couple’s reduction system starting in 2027. He commented, "It is not right for couples growing old together to be disadvantaged," and added, "The reduced payment is due to insufficient fiscal resources and should be corrected as much as possible." He also mentioned a plan to increase the Basic Pension with a ‘lower-income, higher-support’ approach, meaning more support for those with less income.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.