The two ruling parties agreed Tuesday that the level of public pension benefits for a model household should be no less than 50 percent of its average salary before retirement, rejecting the Finance Ministry's call for drastic cuts in both benefits and premiums.
The agreement reached by the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito effectively endorses part of the pension reform proposal put forward last month by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
The parties did not reach any agreement on the level of burdens that the pension insurers will have to pay, party sources said.
The ruling parties plan to push the accord during a government-ruling coalition meeting Wednesday, in which Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will be present, the sources said.
Under the welfare ministry's proposal, benefits would be lowered to around 50 percent from the current 59 percent of an employee's average salary before retirement.
The model household, used in simulations by the welfare ministry, consists of a salaried worker with a housewife.