As of last year, 516 retired political affairs personnel were covered by the 18 percent preferential savings program, of which 235 were receiving a monthly average pension of NT$117,000 (US$3,725.76) at current exchange rates, Ministry of Civil Service data showed.
The statistics came as the National Pension Reform Committee is slated to discuss the pension system for retired political affairs personnel this week.
Political affairs personnel are civil service administrative staff who have not taken national examinations. They are appointed by the president via executive order or special appointment, recommended by the president and ratified by the Legislative Yuan, or are referred to the president by the premier.
The 18 percent preferential rates, formally known as the Preferential Saving Rates for Retirement Pension of Military Officials, Civil Servants and Educators (軍公教退休優惠存款), were introduced in 1960 when the average income for the three professions was lower than most other careers.
The total pension payout for the 516 retired personnel last year was estimated at NT$1.2 billion, the ministry said, adding that the central government and Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行) shared the payout on preferential savings interest, which totalled NT$260 million.
Of the 235 personnel receiving a monthly average pension of NT$117,000, 76 percent were ministerial-level retirees who were receiving an average of NT$129,943 per month, the ministry said, adding that retired civil servants who ranked from the 10th to 14th pay grade were receiving an average monthly pension of NT$77,278.
The ministry said former vice presidents Lien Chan (連戰) and Lee Yuan-tsu (李元簇) were receiving a monthly pension of more than NT$160,000.
Internet rumors claiming that political affairs personnel, legislators and elected officials, such as the president, mayors and county commissioners, were all eligible for the 18 percent preferential savings program are false, the ministry said.
It said that beneficiaries of the 18 percent preferential savings program include former National Assembly members and six former lawmakers, who as of last year had received NT$13.1 million due to a preferential clause encouraging the retirement of members of the first National Assembly.
The assembly was first established in China under the framework of the 1947 Republic of China Constitution.
Its primary role was as a constitutional convention and electoral college tasked with choosing a president.
It was transplanted to Taiwan in 1949 after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lost the Chinese Civil War.
The assembly, which last amended the Constitution in 1994 and paved the way for the first direct election of the nation’s president and vice president in March 1996, was abolished in 2005.
Eight county commissioners are still benefitting from the 18 percent preferential savings program, and on average they receive NT$38,214 per year, the ministry said, adding that an additional 99 township mayors are also entitled to the program.
Lawmakers are not covered by the regulations, the ministry said, adding that only political affairs personnel that were former legislators, or individuals that were entitled to civil servant and educators insurance payouts, could apply for preferential savings.
Prior to 2003, the pension offered to political affairs personnel applied not only to specially appointed officials, but also to the vice president, the Taiwan provincial governor and all municipal mayors.
Individuals who held these offices were eligible for the preferential savings program, with their time in office included in the calculation, the ministry said.
However, the vice president, the Taiwan provincial governor and municipal mayors were removed from the eligibility list in 2004, while civil servants who become political affairs personnel are entitled to a one-time severance payment, the ministry said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique