About 30 percent of Koreans, aged between 18 and 49, support the abolition of the national pension system amid waning public trust in the fund, a recent poll shows.

According to a survey, released on Sunday, people in those age groups share a distrust of the sustainability of the fund, which is expected to be depleted around 30 years in the future.

Asked to choose one of four options to improve its financial soundness — increasing the premium rate, focusing on reducing the burden of future generations, abolishing the system and “not sure” — 31.8 percent of those in their 40s selected the option of dissolution.

The objection rate was also high for those in their 30s (29 percent) and those aged between 18 and 29 (29.4 percent), compared with those in their 50s (17.1 percent), 60s (6.7 percent) and 70s (10.5 percent).

When asked whether the government should increase the premium rate from the current 9 percent of income, about half of people aged 49 or younger said they did not support the idea. The objection rate was much lower among people in their 50s (42.5 percent), 60s (28.5 percent) and 70s (22 percent).

The results demonstrate skepticism about the pension system among young Koreans, which contrasts with their elders who hold more favorable views.

This comes at a time when the government is pushing to reform the system to make it more sustainable and reliable. Last month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it was seeking to increase the pension premium rate gradually to 13 percent of income and the pension’s income replacement rate from 40 percent to 42 percent

The nation’s pension fund, one of the world’s largest with 1,147 trillion won ($850 billion) in assets, is expected to be depleted by 2055. Payments are expected to exceed contributions starting in 2041 due to the declining number of newborns, who are future contributors.

Asked to choose between prioritizing the pension’s financial soundness and benefits for recipients, 55.5 percent said the former should be considered first before expanding benefits, compared with 33 percent who chose the latter.

The relative poverty rate for people aged 66 or older in Korea stood at 40.4 percent in 2020, far higher than the OECD average of 14.2 percent, according to its data.

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