Paying into National Pension for Years, Only to Pass Away Empty-Handed: Criticized as "Cruel Neglect"

▲ National Pension

It has been revealed that about 6,000 disabled individuals passed away without receiving a single old-age pension payment after paying into the National Pension for over 10 years, failing to reach the eligible age.

According to data provided by the National Pension Service to Representative So Byung-hun of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee on October 13, 13,263 disabled people died before reaching the pension eligibility age over the past five years.

Among them, 6,100 disabled individuals passed away after meeting the minimum subscription period of 10 years without receiving a single payment, while 1,053 people had not even filed a claim for benefits, excluding cases converted to survivor pensions after death.

The tragedy of dying before receiving benefits stems from the structural vulnerabilities faced by people with disabilities.

According to the National Pension Service, as of June of this year, the average subscription period for subscribers with severe disabilities was 104 months (about 8.6 years), falling short of the 120-month (10-year) minimum threshold for old-age pension eligibility.

The average standard monthly income for people with severe disabilities stood at 1,714,460 won, lingering at 62% of that for people with mild disabilities (2,762,349 won), subjecting them to a double blow of low income and interrupted subscriptions.

Under current laws, special provisions allow workers in specific occupations, such as coal miners and sailors, to receive their pensions five years earlier (age 58 as of this year) in consideration of physical aging and labor characteristics.

However, people with severe disabilities are not granted special provisions regarding the initiation of benefit payments, and even basic research on lowering the age requirement remains lacking.

Representative So Byung-hun emphasized, "Applying the same standards to people with severe disabilities, who have shorter life expectancies, is not equality but rather a cruel neglect of blind spots," adding, "We must apply the principle of analogy used for special occupations to advance the pension eligibility age."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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