President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said the nation’s loss-plagued pension funds could not and would not go bankrupt, as he pledged to come up with a pragmatic, feasible reform program in January amid complaints by opposition parties about his approach to resolving the problems.
After meeting with Premier Sean Chen (陳冲), Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Examination Yuan President John Kuan (關中) on the thorny issue, Ma said at a press conference that his administration would tackle the matter in a responsible and cautious manner because many people have a stake in the sustainability of the pension system.
“We’ll address the issue in a transparent and gradual way, with a clear goal, after extensive communications with various social sectors,” Ma said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
He said the major problems with the pension system were insufficient funding and unequal distribution of benefits among different professions and different generations.
An overhaul of the system is necessary and urgent, he said.
“The work may be tough and complex, but we can no longer drag our feet because the flawed system could hurt our fiscal health and affect the well-being of public and private-sector employees, and even society as a whole,” Ma said.
In the meeting between the heads of the three branches of government, decisions were made about the division of responsibilities on pension fund reforms and a timeframe for the overhaul, Ma said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accused Ma of enacting “pseudo reform” of various pension programs and criticized his refusal to hold a national affairs conference to resolve the issue.
DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) reiterated his call for a national affairs conference, which Ma previously turned down, saying that Ma’s plan would be difficult, time-consuming and inefficient.
Ma also omitted mentioning the 18 percent preferential interest rate and the year-end bonuses for retired public servants in his meeting, which made his pledge a “pseudo reform,” DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) told a press conference.
The exclusion of the preferential interest rate and the year-end bonuses would likely create more social instability and conflict between different generations, occupations and social groups, Pan said.
The DPP had reiterated its call for a national affairs conference because it would gather together people from all parts of society for comprehensive discussion on the fiscal problems the country is facing so that Taiwanese could comprehensively deal with their own “fiscal cliff,” Pan said.
In Greater Tainan, former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also called on Ma to convene a national affairs conference, adding that Ma’s excuse for refusing to hold one was unacceptable.
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) called a national affairs conference in 1990 because the legislature was not functioning well and the present situation is very similar to that time, Tsai said, because both the administrative and legislative branches of government have failed to meet challenges and solve problems.
“We need to achieve a consensus on reform now more than ever through a collaboration of all forms of social power, as well as mitigating a potential conflict of interest during the reform process by holding a national affairs conference,” Tsai said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
RSS