The Council of Grand Justices yesterday ruled that most legal changes made for pension reforms pertaining to public-sector employees and civil servants are constitutional.
In Constitutional Interpretations No. 781, 782 and 783, the council said that the legislation mostly conformed with the Constitution, which provided legal backing for the government’s push for pension system reform.
The only item found to be unconstitutional stipulated that retired civil servants, military personnel and public-school teachers would be ineligible to receive government pensions if they take jobs at private institutions, which typically have higher wages than equivalent positions in the public sector.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The clause is unconstitutional, as it goes against the principle of equal rights, the council said.
The other legislation — regarding issues such as the government’s promise for pension payments, the legality of retroactive measures and the protection of private property — are constitutional, it said.
The ruling was in response to challenges by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators to the constitutionality of the legislation, with Interpretation No. 781 covering military personnel, No. 782 pertaining to civil servants and No. 783 covering educators at public schools and national universities.
Retired lieutenant general Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) led groups of veterans and public employees in a rally outside the Judicial Yuan after the rulings were announced.
The KMT expressed regret over the rulings, while the Democratic Progressive Party caucus said that they affirmed the legitimacy and necessity of the pension reforms.
The legislation to reform the pensions of civil servants, military personnel and public-school educators were passed by the Legislative Yuan between 2017 and last year.
Later yesterday, Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億) told a news conference at the Executive Yuan that a preliminary tally showed that 407 retired public-school teachers, 150 veterans and 612 retired civil servants who have taken up teaching posts at private schools would start being paid government pensions from yesterday.
Relevant agencies would ascertain the exact number of people whose rights have been reinstated by the interpretations and reimburse them for the pensions they should have received "from yesterday," he added.
The interpretations mean that unconstitutional items in the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法); the Act Governing Retirement, Severance and Bereavement Compensation for the Teaching and Other Staff Members of Public Schools (公立學校教職員退休資遣撫卹條例); and the Act of Military Service for Officers and Non-commissioned Officers of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍軍官士官服役條例) would be removed through legal amendments, he said.
Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) urged the public to stop referring to retired public-sector employees who have taken jobs at private schools as “double-salaried fat cats,” saying that it would be unfair to them, as working for private schools in retirement is just like working for other private companies.
Deputy Minister of Education Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) said that the Ministry of Education would engage with teachers’ groups concerned about the lifting of the rule jeopardizing unemployed teachers’ chances of finding jobs.
Regarding a declaration by the council that a clause stipulating that pensions or alimony to bereaved families of retirees must be adjusted should fluctuations in the consumer price index exceed 5 percentage points is at odds with the reforms’ basic spirit of setting reasonable pension rates and income replacement ratios, Lin said that the rule would also be amended accordingly.
The existing rule might see some pensions raised to almost the same as the salaries earned by active public servants, which would somewhat twist the purpose of the pensions, he added.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
NATIONAL DAY: The ‘Taiwan Dome’ would form the centerpiece of new efforts to bolster air defense and be modeled after Israel’s ‘Iron Dome,’ sources said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday pledged to strengthen the nation’s air defense capabilities and build a “T-Dome” system to create a safety net against growing military threats from China. “We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defense system in Taiwan with multi-layered defense, high-level detection and effective interception, and weave a safety net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens,” he said in his National Day address. In his keynote address marking the Republic of China’s (ROC) 114th anniversary, Lai said the lessons of World War II have taught nations worldwide “to ensure that