People are becoming more worried about life after retirement as the government is seeking to extend the mandatory national pension subscription period by five years to better finance the depleting pension fund.

According to the National Pension Service (NPS), the pension fund is expected to bottom out by 2056 or 2057, three to four years earlier than the NPS predicted five years ago. So the government is contemplating extending the subscription period to the age of 65 from the current 60.

After the scheme was announced Friday, people have been voicing outrage about the possible changes, which will directly affect the livelihoods of millions of people after they retire.

“I think it is unfair for the government to extend the subscription period of the pension. I don’t know if I will be able to work until my retirement. I could be jobless in my 40s or 50s. How am I supposed to sustain my livelihood without any income?” said Kim Jin-hyub, a Seoul resident nearly 40 years old.

Some say if the government wants to stretch the pension subscription period, it should simultaneously extend the legal retirement age, which is currently set at 60, because many will be unable to pay premiums until 65 after retiring at 60 and they will be without any income for the five years of gap.

“If we receive the pension starting at 65 years old, the government needs to extend the retirement age to 65, too. How are we going to live without any sort of income?” said Chung who is in her 30s.

Over 900 online petitions voicing out opposition to the extension have been posted on Cheong Wa Dae’s online petition website.

“The government wants us to pay premiums until we are dead,” a petitioner wrote.

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