The Korea Herald

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Discussions on new pension scheme end without progress

By Korea Herald

Published : July 15, 2013 - 20:15

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An advisory panel on the government’s new pension scheme for elderly citizens ended four months of discussions without reaching consensus on major issues.

The committee, consisting of representatives from the government, civic groups, labor and business, decided to implement the new pension system from July next year, but not for all elderly citizens.

The government will use taxpayers’ money to support the elderly, officials said after the meeting. But they failed to reach agreement on who should be granted the monthly pension benefit and how much, they added.

Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to make an announcement on Wednesday about issues discussed by the panel and the points of agreement.

A new pension scheme was one of President Park Geun-hye’s major campaign pledges. She vowed to offer 200,000 won in monthly pension to all citizens aged 65 and older. But the plan was scaled down after questions arose over the financing of the program

By Cho Chung-un  (christory@heraldcorp.com)