"Spouses Of Retired Public Officials Also Deserve The Basic Pension"...Public Officials' Union Welcomes Proposed Amendment

"Abolishing Discrimination Against Public Officials' Spouses... A Turning Point for Retirement Security"

The Public Officials' Union welcomed the proposed partial amendment to the Basic Pension Act, which deletes the provision excluding spouses of occupational pension beneficiaries from eligibility for the basic pension, and urged the government and the National Assembly to revise the law as soon as possible.

The Civil Servants' Union National Assembly Audit Task Force presenting the agenda at last year's agenda briefing of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions–Democratic Party Labor Respect Implementation Team. Provided by the Civil Servants' Union.

In a commentary released on the 5th, the Public Officials' Union stated that the amendment bill, which was sponsored on the 2nd by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Donga (Seoul Seodaemun-gap), "is not a simple legal revision, but has created an opportunity to stabilize the post-retirement life of retired public officials by normalizing the Basic Pension Act."

The amendment bill proposed by Assemblyman Kim removes spouses of occupational pension (public officials, private school teachers, military personnel, and postal officials under the separate postal service pension) beneficiaries from the list of those excluded from receiving the basic pension. Under this bill, spouses of public officials' pension beneficiaries (those who received their retirement pension as a lump sum), who had been left in a welfare blind spot, would also be covered as beneficiaries under the Basic Pension Act.

The Public Officials' Union pointed out that "there has been strong discontent within the public sector, especially among retired public officials, regarding the Basic Pension Act, which excluded spouses of public officials' pension beneficiaries from the basic pension," adding that "there has been a great outcry over the irrationality of a system that, starting from a legal framework that excludes them in a blanket and indiscriminate manner, also excludes from eligibility the spouses of those who received their retirement pension as a lump sum."

The union also stressed that "the issue of fairness compared to National Pension beneficiaries, who are currently eligible for the basic pension, is becoming increasingly serious, given the reduced benefit levels of the public officials' pension due to frequent adverse revisions and the fact that retirement benefits are only 39% of those in the private sector."

Last year, through its National Assembly Audit Task Force, the Public Officials' Union adopted "Measures to Improve Basic Old-Age Pension Payments to Spouses of Retired Public Officials" as an agenda item and has been carrying out activities to improve the public officials' pension, including calling on the Ministry of Health and Welfare to submit its opinion on amending the Basic Pension Act.

The Public Officials' Union stated, "At a time when the public officials' pension has fallen behind to the point where it is inferior to the National Pension, central government ministries such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Personnel Management, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety must take proactive steps so that public officials who have devoted themselves to the nation can receive equal treatment without discrimination," adding, "We will take the lead in improving unreasonable systems related to the treatment of public officials through ongoing communication."

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