South Korea’s National Pension Service is forecast to run out of money in 2055, adding to pressure on the government to implement pension reform in the face of low births and an ageing population in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The pension fund will start running a deficit from 2041 before it completely runs out in 2055, according to a budget committee of the pension service on Friday. Experts said the government would have to borrow more money from 2041 to make up the shortfall and continue paying pensions.
“If the current pension structure is maintained, its incomes will outpace payouts for the next 20 years but the trend will reverse from 2041,” Chun Byung-mok, the committee chair, told a press conference on Friday.