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Twenty years after it was launched, Korea's national pension system is going to be overhauled. Instead of receiving payouts in proportion to the amount that subscribers paid into the plan according to their income, almost all people will be enrolled in a basic pension scheme under which the government will pay retirees a certain amount.
Government officials and president-elect Lee Myung-bak's Transition Committee members on Sunday said the government had been reluctant to introduce a basic pension scheme due to lack of funds, but now they plan to reform the system.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the government agency in charge of the national pension, will present a report on introducing a basic pension scheme to the committee on Monday.
After the new government is inaugurated in February and a new National Assembly is formed following general elections in April, the debate over the national pension reform, an issue that was temporarily patched up after a fierce debate last year, will likely flare up again.
The current government launched the controversial basic pension scheme, in which 60 percent of all senior citizens 65 years or older receive up to W84,000 (US$1=W939) monthly beginning this year.
Transition Committee members said that the current pension scheme is not enough to support people's post-retirement lives.
Government officials and committee members said they would launch a task force charged with reforming the pension system this year. After working out payment and recipient plans, the task force will formulate a new national pension bill to be submitted to the National Assembly in 2009.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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