The population of civil servants applying for early voluntary retirement grew fourfold in 10 years, from 1,330 in 1996 to 6,200 in 2006, reflecting civil servants’ general concern at the potential debt crisis of the Civil Servant Pension Fund, a recent government-commissioned report showed.
The Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, a staff agency for policy coordination and integration, said the Cabinet should revise the pension system for civil servants to reduce incentives for early retirement.
The report was written by Su Tsai-tsu (蘇彩足), chairperson of the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University. The conclusions were sent to Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) for consideration.
The Civil Servant Retirement Act (公務人員退休法) stipulates that civil servants who are aged 50 and above and have 25 years of service or are aged 60 and above and have 15 years of service qualify for early retirement and monthly retirement pension.
The monthly retirement pension granted to civil servants has long been criticized not only for having an adverse impact on social justice but also for imposing a heavy burden on the economy.
Su said that many retired civil servants had been “rehired” after their retirement, providing “services” to earn additional income on top of their monthly pension, which is the equivalent of 80 percent or more of their salary.
“Civil servants retire early with nice pensions, earning double income in their early 50s — this is a violation of social justice, for the majority of people who work in the private sector use their own savings to finance their retirement,” Su said.
The report said that many government-sponsored foundations had provided retired civil servants with post-retirement jobs because of a lack of supervision.
Su said the government should extend the age threshold or the length of service required for early retirement.
The Ministry of Civil Service said that as a result of investment losses, the pension fund was NT$1.2 trillion (US$ 35.24 billion) in the red last year. Many civil servants worry that the fund will go bankrupt, the report said.
Only by elevating the threshold for early retirement could the upward trend in early retirement be retarded.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS