Seniors to get pensions

Putting aside partisan feuding, lawmakers yesterday passed two provisional bills to provide a monthly stipend of NT$3,000 for citizens 65 years and older. The age requirement for Aborigine citizens is 55, due to their shorter life expectancy.

The two pieces of legislation, though slightly modified by the opposition caucuses, marks a significant triumph for the DPP government, as President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has pushed hard for the pension plan.

"It is the government's responsibility to look after the elderly," independent lawmaker Eugene Jao (趙永清) said. "The introduction of stipends shows that political parties can replace confrontation with cooperation when making public policy."

Government statistics show that by the end of 2000, there were 1.8 million people aged 65 and above. That accounted for 8.5 percent of the population, up by 52.7 percent 10 years earlier.

Earlier, lawmakers from the opposition KMT and the PFP voiced objections to the allowance because they said it would add too great a burden to the nation's cash-strapped treasury. But in an apparent flip-flop, they gave their approval after securing consent from the Cabinet to lower the age threshold for Aboriginal recipients to 55. That provision will cost the government an additional NT$400 million.

DPP lawmaker Chou Ching-yu (周清玉) painted the monthly allowance as long overdue, but thanked her opposition colleagues for their willingness to help fulfill Chen's presidential campaign promise to seniors.

The pension plan, retroactive to Jan. 1 this year, will benefit 450,000 senior citizens, including 11,700 Aborigines. Qualified recipients may collect the stipends before the end of June, as the government has earmarked NT$16 billion for this fiscal year. Those already covered by other pension programs will not receive the stipend.

KMT lawmaker Chiang Yi-wen (江綺雯) urged the government to speed up the introduction of a comprehensive pension program, as the allowance is only a provisional measure.

About 300,000 senior citizens live alone. More than 172,000 of them need long-term health care.

"Besides the stipends, we should build nursing homes and other facilities for the elderly, so they can better enjoy their twilight years," Chiang said.

According to official statistics, only 60 percent of the elderly population live with their children.

Walis Pelin (瓦歷斯貝林), an Aboriginal legislator, said the NT$3,000 monthly allowance is inadequate to cover basic living expenses for old people who have no savings or support from relatives.

He said that the pro-Taiwan movement should start with caring for the Aborigines, who over the years have been ignored by the government.

Average life expectancies in Taiwan are 73 for men and 79 for women. The figure is 58 for male Aborigines and 69 for female Aborigines.

To address the problems facing seniors, scholars have called for the establishment of a sustainable pension system and the amendment of the Civil Code and the Elders' Welfare Law to legally require children to support and respect their parents.