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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Children’s savings account program to launch in June
MATURING EXPENSES: The MOHW said that by 2034, the 18th year of the initiative, it would have paid NT$26 billion and would be spending NT$2.75 billion annually
By Lin Hui-chin, Lo Tien-pin and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
A policy of establishing bank accounts for orphans and children of disadvantaged families, in a bid to provide them with financial support as adults, is to begin in June, the Executive Yuan said yesterday.
The accounts are to be created at Bank of Taiwan under the “Plan to Promote Savings Accounts for the Future Education and Development of Children and Youths,” Ministry of Health and Welfare （MOHW） official Lee Mei-chen （李美珍） said.
The policy is to cover children born after Jan. 1 last year to low or mid-to-low income families, or children placed in youth homes for prolonged periods, Lee said.
Under the program, parents or legal guardians of the children may deposit a maximum of NT$15,000 （US$494.46） per year into an account, which the government is to match, she said.
Assuming that the maximum amount is deposited each year after birth and the sum is matched by the government, each child would have NT$540,000 in their account by the time they reach age 18, she added.
The ministry would consider asking social welfare groups to “adopt” families unable to deposit funds into the accounts and make the annual payments, Lee said.
The ministry has estimated that starting this year, about 10,000 children per year would be eligible for the program, it said, adding that expenses would be reflected as “government affairs expenses” in the budgets of the MOHW and the Ministry of Education.
The MOHW cited statistics showing that members of low-income families constituted 2.84 percent of the nation’s population last year, with children living in impoverished conditions comprising 6.64 of the population.
It estimated that by the 18th year of the program, 2034, it would have paid a total of NT$26 billion and would be spending NT$2.75 billion annually to match deposits in the accounts.
As many as 180,000 people could benefit from the initiative by 2034, it said.
Staff are to hold public hearings to explain the policy in detail while the contract with Bank of Taiwan is being signed, the MOHW said, adding that implementation should begin by early June after a system is established between the government, the bank and prospective depositors.
The savings accounts would not be classified as assets to prevent them from affecting a household’s status as a low-income family, the MOHW said.
The accounts would also not be usable as collateral for loans, it added.
Should a household lose its low-income family status, it would be given a one-year grace period before the government stops matching its deposits, it said.
Should a family decide to opt out of the program due to an inability to make deposits, the situation is to be assessed by social workers and, if approved, the contract would be annulled, the MOHW said.
However, such families would only be able to withdraw unmatched funds from the account, it added.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
