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(Photo= Yonhap news) |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Minyoung] 7 out of 10 Koreans feel burdened by the National Pension reform proposal discussed in the 21st National Assembly, which involves increasing contributions and adjusting pension benefits to a "pay more, receive more" scheme.
The Korea Federation of Employers (KFE) revealed on the 15th that according to a nationwide survey conducted by the opinion research firm Monori Research from June 17 to 26, targeting 1,034 adults aged 20 and over, about 73.0% responded negatively to the proposal.
Specifically, 37.3% responded "very negatively" and 35.7% responded "somewhat negatively." In contrast, only 3.2% responded "very positively" and 16.2% responded "somewhat positively."
Regarding acceptable levels of premium rates, 59.7% of all respondents preferred to maintain the current 9%, while only 4.2% indicated they could tolerate a 13% premium rate. The KFE added that a realistic alternative for adjusting premium rates, considering public acceptance for pension reform, would likely be around 10%.
Additionally, 72.7% of respondents felt that the current pension contribution level relative to income is burdensome, with 22.0% considering it average and only 5.3% not burdensome.
Regarding the contentious issue of increasing income replacement rates, 52.1% of respondents were opposed, while 33.9% were in favor. The majority opinion favored not increasing rates due to concerns over fund depletion, rather than enhancing retirement income.
Furthermore, increasing the mandatory retirement age for National Pension enrollment from the current 59 to 64 years received more negative responses at 51.6% compared to positive responses.
Alphabiz Kim Minyoung (kimmy@alphabiz.co.kr)
