[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Rep. Ahn Hoyoung: "Retirement Pensions Enter 1 Quadrillion Won Era... National Pension Service Participation, Retirement Pension Corporation Needed"

Proposal to Involve the National Pension Service in Management and Establish a Retirement Pension Corporation

Rep. Ahn Hoyoung of the Democratic Party of Korea said that the National Pension Service should participate in managing retirement pensions and that a retirement pension agency should be established to strengthen their role in securing income for retirees.

Rep. Ahn Hoyoung of the Democratic Party of Korea. Yonhap News Agency.

Rep. Ahn, a member of the National Assembly’s Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee, made the remarks on October 27 during a comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, calling for structural reform of the retirement pension system.

Rep. Ahn said retirement pension assets totaled 553.9 trillion won at the end of the first half of this year and are projected to grow to 1,042 trillion won by 2034. He noted that the return last year was 6.47%, a record high, but that the annualized return over the past 10 years was just 2.64%. He added that retirement pension fees last year were estimated at about 2.1362 trillion won and stressed that subscribers should benefit from cost savings resulting from the growth in pension assets.

Rep. Ahn argued that the National Pension Service’s expertise and nationwide network of branches should be put to use alongside the introduction of a fund-based retirement pension system. He explained that applying the National Pension Service’s investment management experience to retirement pensions could strengthen investment expertise and help subscribers plan for retirement by linking their National Pension and retirement pension benefits.

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon said, “The overriding principle is to prioritize securing subscribers’ retirement income and improving returns,” adding, “Given the positive functions of the National Pension Service, we will consider its participation to an appropriate extent.” He added, however, that the specific scope of its participation would need to be discussed during the legislative process.

Rep. Ahn also proposed establishing a retirement pension agency to strengthen the integrated management of retirement pensions and public accountability. The aim, he said, is to ensure stable retirement benefits for workers at small businesses, reduce fees paid to financial companies, and increase subscribers’ retirement income.

At the audit that day, Rep. Ahn also presented a briefing book titled “Measures for Structural Reform of Retirement Pensions to Complete Multilayered Retirement Income Security in a Super-Aged Society.” The briefing book included proposals to expand public pension funds and establish a retirement pension agency, as well as examples of the UK’s NEST and Japan’s Small and Medium Enterprise Retirement Allowance Mutual Aid System.

“To prepare for an era of 1,000 trillion won in retirement pension assets, we need to make clear not only how to improve returns but also who will be responsible for managing them,” Rep. Ahn said, urging officials to “reflect the briefing book’s proposals in system improvements.”

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