A total of 6,100 people with disabilities died over the past five years without ever receiving old-age pension benefits, even though they had paid National Pension premiums for more than 10 years, data showed. Critics say people with severe disabilities are left in a blind spot of retirement protection, as their average contribution period falls short of the eligibility threshold and their incomes are lower.
According to data obtained by Rep. So Byung-hoon of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, 13,263 people with disabilities died before starting to receive old-age pension benefits over the past five years. Of them, 6,100, or 46.0%, died before reaching the eligible age despite having met the minimum contribution period of 120 months.
Deaths before benefits were concentrated among people with severe disabilities, who accounted for 8,731, or 65.8%, of the total. That is about 1.9 times the 4,532 people with mild disabilities. By type of severe disability, brain lesion disorders were the most common at 2,612, followed by kidney disorders at 2,502, mental disorders at 993 and intellectual disabilities at 779. About half of all the deaths, or 6,678, were people in their 50s, while 3,758 were aged 49 or younger.
People with severe disabilities struggle even to complete the contribution period required for benefits. As of June this year, their average contribution period was 104 months, or eight years and eight months, below the 120-month minimum. That is 56 months shorter than the 160 months for people with mild disabilities. Their average monthly income used to calculate premiums was 1.71446 million won, or 62% of the 2.762349 million won for people with mild disabilities.
Relatively early deaths in some disability categories are also cited as an obstacle to retirement protection. As of 2023, the average age at death for people with disabilities overall was 78.3, but it was only 57.8 for people with intellectual disabilities and 63.9 for those with mental disorders. The current National Pension system, however, has no separate exception on eligibility age for people with disabilities. That contrasts with workers in special occupations such as coal miners and sailors, who receive old-age pension benefits five years earlier than ordinary subscribers.
Policy review aimed at lowering the eligibility age for people with disabilities also remains at an early stage. The National Pension Service says it has no fiscal projections or simulation data on early benefits for people with severe or developmental disabilities. It was also confirmed that the agency has no record of reviewing a related pilot program. The agency's research institute is currently examining the feasibility of early benefits and ways to strengthen income security.
"The National Pension Service can no longer turn away from the reality that thousands of people with disabilities are dying without ever receiving old-age protection from the state, despite paying premiums for more than 10 years," So said. He added, "The principle of applying special occupation rules, which is recognized for miners and others, should also be applied to people with severe disabilities to move up the age at which benefits begin."