기초연금 1% 오르면 자녀 지원 0.16% 감소…“사적 부양 대체”

A recent study revealed that a 1% increase in the basic pension results in a 0.16% decrease in the economic support provided to children. This suggests that the basic pension partially replaces private support for families. However, the basic pension increase does not have a significant impact on the employment status or working hours of the elderly.

The research, published in an international academic journal, analyzed the effects of basic pension increases on elderly economic behavior using data from the Korean Aging Research Panel from 2017 to 2022. The study found that for every 1% increase in the basic pension, the amount of private transfers to children decreased by 0.16%.

This indicates that the basic pension creates a strong reinforcing effect on private transfers. The research also noted that the decline in private transfers was confirmed among pension recipients compared to those who never received the basic pension. Specifically, the private transfer among pension recipients decreased by 15.5% after the 2019 basic pension increase.

Furthermore, the effect of the basic pension on replacing private support varied by income level. While the effect was minimal for couples with incomes at or below 70% of the median, it was significant for couples with incomes below 100%, 130%, and 150% of the median. The reinforcing effect was most pronounced at the median income level and decreased as income levels increased.

The researchers explained that this reinforcing effect occurs because low-income households often rely on private transfers for survival and are less sensitive to basic pension increases. In contrast, higher-income households may use the basic pension as a supplementary support, resulting in a more noticeable reinforcing effect.

However, the basic pension increases did not significantly affect the employment status or average daily working hours of the elderly, which the researchers attributed to the livelihood characteristics of the Korean elderly labor market. The study concluded that effective responses to the economic vulnerability of the elderly require a comprehensive social welfare policy that considers the interplay between public and private support.