Government Brings Ministries Together to Discuss National, Basic, Retirement, and Home Pensions for Securing Retirement Income

Inter-ministerial Task Force Meeting Held to Support the Special Committee on Pension
Strengthening Linkages Between National, Basic, Retirement, and Home Pension Systems

The government has brought together multiple ministries to focus not only on stabilizing the finances of the National Pension Service, but also on establishing a “multi-layered retirement income security” system that encompasses the Basic Pension, Retirement Pension, and Home Pension.

On June 24, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Health and Welfare jointly hosted the “2nd Inter-ministerial Task Force Meeting for the National Assembly Special Committee on Pension” at Kensington Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul. The meeting was attended by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Financial Services Commission, among others. The session was co-chaired by First Vice Minister Lee Hyungil of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and First Vice Minister Hyun Soo-yeop of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Last year, the government began implementing reforms under the amended National Pension Act, gradually raising the contribution rate from the previous 9% to 13% and adjusting the income replacement rate to 43%. Notably, the fund's management performance has been significant. In 2025, the National Pension Service achieved a record-high return of 18.82%. As a result, by the end of 2025, the fund's assets had surged by 245 trillion won year-on-year to reach 1,458 trillion won, significantly easing concerns over fiscal soundness.

At the meeting, participants also discussed the establishment of a multi-layered pension system to protect vulnerable groups, in addition to the National Pension Service. For the Basic Pension, a structural reform plan is under consideration that would concentrate benefits on low-income seniors—a so-called “bottom-rich, top-thin” model. Regarding the Retirement Pension, specific institutional improvement measures are being prepared, centered on activating fund-type retirement pensions and mandating external reserves, in line with the tripartite agreement between labor, management, and government. Furthermore, for the Home Pension, the government plans to implement on the ground both an increase in payouts and expanded preferential treatment for vulnerable seniors, as outlined in the improvement plan announced in February 2026.

The government intends to strengthen the linkage between these systems to alleviate lingering public concerns even after pension reform. First Vice Minister Lee Hyungil stated, “We will continue to push for reforms in each pension system to ensure stable and sustainable retirement security,” adding, “We will do our utmost to enhance connections between systems so that the public can truly feel the results of these reforms.” First Vice Minister Hyun Soo-yeop also said, “We will secure financial stability by improving fund returns and actively support the National Assembly’s multi-layered pension system discussions.”

The inter-ministerial task force plans to continue consultations to further develop concrete measures for pension structural reform and fiscal stabilization going forward.

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