Retraite, fonds de pension nationale en alerte… Le rôle des pensions privées devrait s'élargir

Certain analyses suggest that, based on institutional improvements and increased operational yields, retirement pensions are expected to surpass the scale of the National Pension Fund around 2050, and the income security function of private pensions for the elderly may also be significantly enhanced compared to now. Considering that South Korea, which has entered a super-aged society, cannot rely solely on public pensions to adequately cover late-life living expenses, the issues of how to expand the role of retirement and private pensions, such as personal pensions, and how to build a multi-layered pension system have once again become prominent.

Senior researcher Kang Sung-ho of the Insurance Research Institute proposed this outlook at the joint policy seminar hosted by the Korea Institute of Finance and the Korean Financial Society at the Bank Hall in central Seoul on the 14th. He pointed out that the poverty rate among the elderly in Korea is close to 40%, which is relatively high compared to major countries, and explained that relying solely on public pensions like the National Pension is insufficient to ensure adequate income replacement rates. The income replacement rate is an indicator of how much of pre-retirement income can be replaced by pensions after retirement.

Currently, the income replacement rate of private pensions remains at about 5%. Specifically, retirement pensions account for 2.1%, and personal pensions for 3.12%. However, researcher Kang analyzed that if the number of insured persons further increases and if pensions are stabilized through monthly installment payments rather than lump-sum withdrawals, the income replacement rate from retirement pensions alone could rise to 8.3%. Building on this, if institutional reforms and investment yield improvements are implemented, the overall income replacement rate of private pensions, including both retirement and personal pensions, could be expanded to as high as 25%.

The key lies in designing a system that links pensions from the enrollment stage to the payout stage. Kang emphasized that to achieve an income replacement rate of around 70% combining public and private pensions, it is not only necessary to expand coverage but also to implement policies that encourage people to continue receiving pensions in the form of annuities after actual retirement. Previously, many criticisms pointed out that although the scale of domestic retirement pensions has rapidly expanded, their function as a mechanism for income security in old age has not been fully realized due to the high proportion of lump-sum withdrawals.

The seminar also discussed asset formation at various stages of the lifecycle and asset management for the very elderly. Park Sung-wook, senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Finance, analyzed the asset gap among newlywed young families, noting that owning a home benefits asset formation across all social strata. However, he also diagnosed that while living in the capital region may present opportunities for upper-class youth to increase their assets, it will also increase the housing burden for lower-income groups and exacerbate inequality. Based on this, he suggested that youth homeownership support policies should be designed around actual residence and that policies such as public rental housing to reduce living costs should be implemented simultaneously in the capital region. Professor Min In-sik of Kyung Hee University’s Economics Department analyzed the impact of cognitive decline among the elderly on their asset liquidity preferences, emphasizing the necessity of establishing institutional safety devices such as dementia trusts. This trend indicates that future discussions on pension reform may not be limited to adjustments in insurance premiums and benefits but will expand toward a broader scope covering asset formation for young groups and asset protection for the very elderly.