The National Assembly Budget Office has pointed out that while childcare expenses increase as children grow, government projects to respond to the low birth rate are focused only on infancy and are less effective in raising the birth rate.
The National Assembly Budget Office recently published a report titled “Analysis of Key Projects Settlement for Fiscal Year 2022,” saying, “Cash support for raising children is concentrated in the early stages of life, so the continuity of support is poor.” In comparison, the age (subject to payment) is too low.” France has a policy of subsidizing family allowances for households with two or more children up to the age of 20 and reducing the burden of childcare expenses for households with two or more children to encourage childbirth, but in Korea, childcare allowances are virtually cut off after the age of 8, burdening households. that it aggravates
According to the financial authorities on the 10th, the current childcare-related cash equivalent support projects include ▲Parents’ benefits (previously infant allowances) ▲Home-rearing allowances ▲Children’s allowances ▲First meeting vouchers.
The parental benefit, which was implemented for the first time this year, is a project that provides cash support of 700,000 won per month for 0-year-olds and 350,000 won for 1-year-olds to families raising children between the ages of 0 and 1 (born after 2022). From 2024, a parental benefit of 1 million won per month for a 0-year-old child and 500,000 won per month for a 1-year-old child will be paid. This project is an expansion of the infant allowance project, which provided 300,000 won per month for children aged 0 to 1 until last year.
The family care allowance is 200,000 won per month for children aged 0 to 11 months, 150,000 won per month for children aged 12 to 23 months, and 100,000 won per month for children aged 24 months or older, regardless of income, for infants and toddlers under 86 months who do not use daycare centers or kindergartens. It is a business. However, starting from 2022, 100,000 won will be paid as a home-rearing allowance from the 24th month when the parental benefit payment ends.
The child allowance is a project that provides 100,000 won in cash per month to all children under the age of 8 (up to 95 months of age) regardless of parental benefits or home-rearing allowances.
As of this year, a family raising a 0-year-old child can receive a parental salary of 700,000 won and a child allowance of 100,000 won, up to a maximum of 800,000 won. The 2 million won first meeting ticket and the childbirth subsidy paid by local governments are separate.
Families with a one-year-old child will receive a maximum of 450,000 won, up to 350,000 won in parental benefits and 100,000 won in child allowance. Families with children older than 24 months can receive up to KRW 200,000 in childcare allowances up to KRW 100,000 for child care allowances of KRW 100,000 for children. If the child is sent to a kindergarten or daycare center, only 100,000 won is received.
From next year, parental benefits will increase to 1 million won for children younger than 12 months and 500,000 won for children between 12 and 24 months. In other words, from next year, families raising newborn babies can receive up to 1.1 million won in childcare allowance.
Eventually, from next year, the gap in the amount of monthly subsidies will widen, ranging from 1.1 million won to 100,000 won depending on the age of the child.
Given that the majority of families send children over 24 months of age to childcare facilities, the only allowance that households raising children after 24 months can receive is 100,000 won per month. Even this ends when the child turns 8.
The problem is that the cost of raising children gradually increases after infancy. According to the ‘2021 Family and Childbirth Survey’ published by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, looking at the trend of childcare costs by age group, infants (606,000 won) → elementary school students (785,000 won) → middle and high school students (919,000 won), etc. increases to Even if private education expenses are excluded, childcare costs rise to 360,000 won per month for elementary school students and 410,000 won per month for middle and high school students, putting a burden on households.
In foreign countries, family allowances are continuously supported while raising a child, taking into account the increase in childcare costs as the child grows. According to a survey by the National Assembly Budget Office, in France, family allowances (up to 132 euros per month for two children) are paid to households with two or more children up to the age of 20. In Germany, a child allowance of 250 euros per month is paid to all children under the age of 18 regardless of the number of children. If you receive academic and vocational training after the age of 18, you will receive an allowance until the age of 25.
The National Assembly Budget Office said, “Compared to major overseas countries, the age of support is limited, and state support for raising children over the age of 8 is insufficient.” It is necessary to review the appropriateness of the age of benefits and the amount of child allowance,” he emphasized.
Some point out that the family support budget is relatively small. Korea’s family support budget is 1.56% of GDP , which is lower than the OECD average (2.29%). Based on cash payments such as child allowance and parental leave benefits, it is 0.32% of GDP 먹튀검증which is only 30% of the OECD average of 1.12%. An official from the National Assembly Budget Office said, “Major countries in Europe that experienced and overcame ultra-low birth rates (total fertility rate of less than 1.3) are maintaining family
support budgets at a certain level relative to GDP. ” The family support budget, such as support, is the budget that is most directly related to the increase in the birth rate, and seems to have had a significant impact on overcoming the low birth rate in major overseas countries.” He said, “At the same time as resetting the scope of the low birth rate budget project, it is necessary to consider expanding support centering on the family support budget project that is most related to the actual low birth rate.”
The Yoon Seok-yeol government, which established parental benefits according to the pledge after its inauguration, is currently focusing on expanding the ‘Children’s Allowance’ ( CTC ), in which the amount of support is differentially paid according to income, rather than increasing the child allowance, which is universally paid regardless of income. erected to the side.
In the 2023 tax law revision announced last month, the government raised the standard for subsidies for children from 40 million won to 70 million won in gross income, and increased the maximum payment amount from 800,000 won to 1 million won. As a result, the number of subsidy recipients will nearly double from 580,000 to 1.04 million. The total payment will also double from 500 billion won to 1 trillion won. An official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said, “The subsidy for children is a refund-type system targeting the low-income class.” The advantage is that we can give more to those who need it more.”
