[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] With private school pensions projected to turn into a deficit by 2029 and the fund expected to be depleted by 2049, it has been revealed that the amount of fraudulent claims in private school pensions reached 5.1 billion KRW over the past five years.
According to the "Status of Fraudulent Claims" data submitted by the Private School Pension Corporation to Lee Tae-gyu, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the People Power Party, there were 232 cases of fraudulent claims detected over the past five years (2017 to July 2022) where pension benefits were received despite losing pension eligibility due to imprisonment with a sentence of imprisonment or higher after retirement, death, or emigration. The total amount detected was 5.159 billion KRW.
Among these, the amount not yet recovered stands at 795 million KRW.
There were 97 cases (4.132 billion KRW) of 'punishment restriction' where the individual concealed the fact of a confirmed sentence during employment and fraudulently received benefits, and 135 cases (1.027 billion KRW) of 'loss of pension rights' where the individual failed to report loss of pension eligibility due to death, disappearance, etc., resulting in fraudulent claims.
Rep. Lee emphasized, "The corporation must take proactive measures to recover the funds immediately upon confirmation of delinquency," and added, "Furthermore, if the number of early pension recipients due to school closures increases, the depletion of the private school pension fund will inevitably be accelerated. Therefore, various reform measures such as raising the pension eligibility age and changing pension conditions must be explored comprehensively."
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