Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday voted down a motion by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which attempted to block a government-proposed amendment to tighten pension eligibility for elderly farmers.
Earlier this year, the Executive Yuan referred an amendment to the Temporary Statute Regarding the Welfare Pension of Senior Farmers (老年農民福利津貼暫行條例) to the legislature for review.
In the amendment, farmers would only be eligible to apply for a state pension if they have been enrolled in the insurance system for at least 15 years — not the six months currently required.
DPP lawmakers are opposed to the amendment, but the government said tightening requirements would help prevent “pseudo-farmers” from cashing in on the welfare system.
Earlier this month, DPP legislators Kao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) and Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) filed a reconsideration motion to freeze the Executive Yuan’s proposal, but their KMT counterparts blocked the motion in a 19-14 vote yesterday.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-jen (吳育仁) said that the Cabinet’s draft amendment would help “push for a reformation of the pension system by weeding out the ‘fake’ farmers.”
Fellow KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) added that official records show that many people receiving the pension are in their 80s or 90s, and many are not “real” farmers.
Chen countered by telling Ting: “You cannot just say they are ‘fake’ farmers because they are in their 80s or 90s.”
KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍), who presided over the meeting, called a vote to decided whether to send the proposal to cross-party negotiations.
DPP committee members made emergency calls to their colleagues, but the KMT lawmakers outnumbered the opposition legislators and succeeded in blocking the motion.
Speaking to the media before the meeting, Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Pao-chi (陳保基) said it is unfair that people who work as farmers for six months can receive the same amount of compensation as those who have farmed for decades.
“Raising the threshold would not have any effect on actual farmers who have been farming for a long time,” he said.
DPP lawmakers said that instead of imposing tougher eligibility requirements, the government could instead simply verify if the insured are actually farming. This would avoid many farmers being deprived of their right to a government pension, which would be the effect of the proposal if passed.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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