《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Poorer retirees to retain 18％ rate

CONSENSUS: After consulting the public in January, officials earmarked NT$32,160 as the lowest monthly pension to permit the 18% savings rate, Lin Wan-i said

By Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter

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While plans are under way to phase out the 18 percent preferential saving rate for retired public employees, those who receive a monthly pension of less than NT$32,160 are likely to still be entitled to the benefit.

The Presidential Office’s Pension Reform Committee is inclined to keep the 18 percent preferential savings rate for people whose pensions are below a certain amount, which is likely to be set at NT$32,160, Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i （林萬億）, the committee’s deputy convener, said yesterday.

The proposed floor is designed for retired civil servants and public-school teachers, but is also expected to be extended to retired military personnel, although an independent pension reform plan for military personnel has yet to be submitted.

The committee chose NT$32,160 over a proposal of NT$25,000 as the pension floor to provide a basic living income for a greater number of less-well-off retirees, Lin said.

However, the final decision is to be announced by President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） tomorrow, Lin said.

Following January’s national affairs conference on pension reform, the committee was leaning toward endorsing the NT$32,160 figure, as it is consistent with the majority public opinion, Lin said.

Fewer than 4,000 retired public employees receive a monthly pension of less than NT$32,160, and there are fewer than 2,000 who receive under NT$25,000.

“Both plans have minimal effects on pension fund spending. The NT$32,160 plan is more supportive of underprivileged people,” Lin said.

“The government should take care of underprivileged pensioners, who had relatively low incomes before retirement. From the perspective of protecting underprivileged people, the government is happy to adopt the NT$32,160 plan,” he said.

The committee has decided to continue to allow financially dependent family members of deceased pensioners to receive half the amount of the pension formerly paid to their relative.

The Executive Yuan and the Examination Yuan in 2013 proposed reducing the benefits paid to surviving family members from half of a deceased relative’s pension to one-third.

The proposal was never implemented and the committee has decided to keep the survivor’s benefit at one-half, to ensure a basic standard of living for widows and children, who make up the majority of people receiving it, Lin said.

The Executive Yuan and the Examination Yuan are on Thursday expected to approve a legislative package for pension reforms that is to be submitted to the Legislative Yuan.

The proposals are to include a draft amendment to the Labor Insurance Act （勞工保險條例）, a draft bill on retirement benefits for public-school teachers, a draft bill on the retirement benefits for civil servants, a draft amendment to the Civil Servant and Teacher Insurance Act （公教人員保險法） and a draft amendment to the Act Governing the Recompense for the Discharge of Special Political Appointees （政務人員退職撫卹條例）.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES