The 2023 Outlook for Income Security Policy

Abstract

This article deals with changes in the income security system that are likely to occur in 2023 and issues that require attention in this regard. A survey by the National Statistical Office projects that income gradually will recover as the years 2021 and 2022 elapse. However, business income is still in decline, and employers and the self-employed have yet to fully recover. The changes that are likely to take place this year in the income security system are as follows. First, adjustments may be implemented to the property standards of the basic livelihood security system. Second, changes are planned for the labor incentives and earned income credit tax (EITC) for the working poor, and the Seoul Safe Income Pilot Project is also a change to take note of. Third, parental benefits will be introduced for children, and the reform of the national pension, which is the main means of securing old-age income, will also be discussed in depth. In addition, the establishment of relationships with other old-age income security measures should be reviewed. Lastly, household debt measures should be prepared for the poor, who are vulnerable to interest rate hikes.