The Appraisal and Policy of Income Support in the Basic Livelihood Security System

Abstract

□ 기초보장제도 10년 동안의 생계보장의 제도변화와 평가 □ 해외 주요 국가의 기본생활보장 및 생계보장 분석 □ 양적 질적 조사자료 분석을 통한 우리나라 기초보장제도의 생계보장수준 □ 기초보장제도과 생계보장의 관계와 역할 분석을 통한 발전방향 모색

The year of 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the Basic Livelihood Security(BLS). Ever since its inception, the BLS has played a significant role in supporting the poor in Korea, but it is not without its flaws. During the recent years, various issues have been pointed out and raised associated with the BLS, particularly with its coverage, work disincentive effects, eligibility criteria and declining benefits. As Article 1 of the Basic Livelihood Security Law specifies, the BLS takes as its primary goal the protection of minimum standard of living and the fostering of self-reliance. Against these circumstances, this study attempts to look at and assess BLS's coverage and benefit level and its linkage with other initiatives. As of 2008, as much as 7.9% of the population was estimated to live below the national poverty line, left outside the BLS. Benefits provided by the BLS are found to have significant effect on the betterment of living standards for women and senior citizens. However, the BLS fails to take into account the differences in the minimum cost of living across areas and family types. Also, because the BLS is in principle an income supplement program, many of the beneficiaries tend to remain on it for a long time. Those remaining on benefits for a period between 8 and 10 years as a share of all recipients have increased uninterruptedly since 2005 to 34.3% in 2009. To reduce the number of those left outside social security requires raising social assistance benefits and a widening of social insurance coverage. In addition, in-kind benefits (medicaid, housing support, etc.) and social allowance programs should be strengthened over time to reduce poverty among those left outside the BLS. Lastly, from a long-term perspective, the Japanese practice of measuring minimum cost of living, which factors in differences across regions and family types, is something Korea can learn from.