SEOUL, March 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's rival political parties agreed Thursday on national pension reform plans amid chronic worry about the pension fund depletion.

The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party agreed to raise the pension contribution rate from the current 9 percent to 13 percent.

Under the agreement, it will be lifted by 0.5 percentage points per year for eight years beginning in 2026.

The nominal income replacement rate, or the percentage of pre-retirement income covered by the pension program, will be increased from the current 40 percent to 43 percent next year.

The revised bill on the national pension reform plans was scheduled to be passed in the National Assembly later in the day.

If approved, it would mark the third reform since the pension system was introduced in 1988.

The pension reform came amid lingering concerns about pension fund depletion, affected by the low birth rate and the rapidly aging population.

Under the current program, the national pension fund was forecast to go into deficit by 2041 and completely run out by 2055. Enditem

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