A total of 19 trillion won ($17.6 billion) of taxpayers’ money has been channeled into South Korea’s military pension fund over the past 42 years in order to cover the fund’s deficits, data showed Monday.

The South Korean government has funneled 19.12 trillion won into the military fund since 1973, when the fund went into the red for the first time, according to the data compiled by the Korea Tax Internet, a Seoul-based nonprofit organization.

In comparison, the public officials’ pension has absorbed 14.7 trillion won of taxpayers’ money since 2001.

The military fund first ran dry in 1973, 10 years after its creation, and 3 trillion won of taxpayers’ money was injected that year and some 1.4 trillion won was pumped into the pension fund last year alone.

Reflecting inflation and using the 2014 price level, the military pension has swallowed a total of 28 trillion won of taxpayers’ money over 42 years.

Critics call for redesigning the pension’s payment policy as there are no age guidelines for recipients to receive pensions.

Those who served in the military for 20 years are eligible to receive a pension no matter how old they are at the time of retirement.

For example, a 39-year-old officer who retires after 20 years in service is expected to receive his annuity for more than 38 years if he dies at 77, the average life span of a South Korean man. After his death, his family can receive the money for an additional 24 years.

As of 2013, according to the data two receivers were in their 30s and 2,550 were under 50.

They said that the fund’s deficit will widen in the coming years due to a longer life span.

The Seoul government announced a plan last year to reform the military fund, as well as the public officials’ pension but put off the project due to a fierce backlash.

“The military pension needs to adopt a pension-peak system to reduce payments after a certain period,” said Kim Sun-taek, the president of the KTI. (Yonhap)