A motion by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to set the minimum monthly pension for retired civil servants, including public-school teachers, at NT$32,160 (US$1,056) passed its second reading yesterday.
Lowest-level civil servants would be paid the minimum pension, according to a goal set by the DPP administration to gradually decrease civil servants’ and public-school teachers’ average income replacement ratio from 75 percent to 60 percent over 15 years.
A draft proposed by KMT Legislator Alisha Wang (王育敏) that seeks to set the minimum pension at NT$36,155 — a figure determined after factoring in bonuses some basic civil servants receive — was defeated after 67 of the 97 legislators present voted against it.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
A proposal by the New Power Party (NPP) to set the minimum pension at NT$22,208, the median disposable income, was only backed by the NPP caucus’ five legislators.
NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) called the outcome “regrettable.”
Earlier in the day, Huang said at the legislature that the Ministry of Civil Service calculates civil servants’ income replacement ratios using an equation that uses their monthly salary as the denominator, but multiplies it by two.
Photo: CNA
The equation makes the actual income replacement ratios appear lower than they really are, he said.
The average replacement rate is 97 percent and would still be 77 percent after the pension reform is completed, he said.
The government is not mistreating civil servants by pushing pension reform, as the average income replacement rate among members of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development members is 54 percent, while in Singapore the figure is just above 30 percent, he said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“Can younger civil servants see the future? Can the DPP really attain its reform goals?” Huang asked.
Meanwhile, the DPP tabled a draft that would allow civil servants to retain their seniority while they are on childcare leave as long as they continue paying a monthly fee to support the Civil Servant Pension Fund.
According to the Civil Service Retirement Act (公務人員退休法), civil servants and the government should contribute to a monthly fee that is equivalent to 12 percent of the employees’ monthly salary at a rate of 35 percent and 65 percent respectively.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The NPP proposed that the government pay the entire fee while civil servants are on childcare leave, while the KMT proposed that the government and public servants share the cost equally.
Neither motion secured a majority vote.
A motion by DPP Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) that seeks to revise the allocation ratio for the civil servant insurance system — which also affects civil servants’ pensions — passed the second stage after a vote.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Legislators for and against the pension reform gave speeches in between the votes, with the KMT caucus criticizing President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) pension reform plan.
KMT lawmakers said that the reform would only delay the civil servant pension system’s bankruptcy for a few years.
The money the government would save through pension reform pales in comparison with the Cabinet’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, which has a budget of NT$882.49 billion, they said.
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