Civic advisory members of a parliamentary committee discussing pension reform said that despite lingering differences over select details, most officials agree on the need to raise the age ceiling on subscription for national pension from 59 to 64. 

In a seminar hosted by the ruling People Power Party on Wednesday, Kwon Moon-il, president of the National Pension Research Institute explained why pension was not being an effective substitute for post-retirement income, noting that the policy duration was relatively short at an average of 27 years.

Kwon highlighted the need to devise measures to increase this period.

He said while some experts call for stronger income guarantee through pension and others stress the importance of the fund's fiscal sustainability, progress has been made on narrowing differences. Kwon emphasized that concessions must be made to carry out pension reform. 

As for basic pension for seniors, he said that despite some opposition, there is considerable support behind the idea of raising payments by some 400-thousand won to address poverty among the elderly.