A government Web site for calculating pension changes following proposed reforms to the pension system should include calculations for working teachers, because they will bear the brunt of the costs, National Senior High School Teachers’ Union officials said yesterday.
“The government should not use false information to mislead teachers by saying that they will still receive monthly pensions of more than NT$50,000 under the new system,” union director-general Huang Yao-nan (黃耀南) said, adding that the calculator on the Ministry of Civil Service’s Web site fails to take into account pension benefit parameter changes for those who have yet to retire.
Teachers who are subject to the new system are those who started working after the 1995 reforms that eliminated the 18 percent preferential interest rate for government employees.
Photo: CNA
They would be eligible for retirement after 25 years of service, compared with 35 years under the old system, because of their later entry into the profession due to time spent in tertiary education.
Cash contributions to pension funds by teachers subject to the new system are also to be increased by 50 percent.
While the calculator is accurate for changes to pension benefits, many current teachers might be unaware that their benefits will be subject to a different set of parameters, Huang said, calling on the ministry to add new settings applicable to teachers of today.
A notice above the calculator says its estimates only apply to retirees, with a retirement date column used to exclude requests by those still working.
“The estimates provided by the calculator are different from the actual situation, but most teachers are not aware of that, so when you enter the numbers it can appear that there is not a significant impact,” he said.
“The reality is that the draft bill would cut a big part of currently employed teachers’ retirement benefits and every cut would strike to the bone,” he said.
Huang added that while the calculator says retired teachers with at least some seniority under the pre-1995 system would be paid pensions based on their final and highest salary, according to the pension reform plans they would be paid pensions based on the average salary of their final 15 years of employment.
Huang said the situation was a “government trick” to deceive the public and mitigate opposition to reform.
The Ministry of Education said the Web site makes it clear that the calculator is for retired teachers to estimate how reforms might affect their pensions and that is why the system has set the base year at the final-year salary.
A formula for working teachers is still being deliberated and it will launch another calculator after the pension reform committee comes up with a complete reform plan that would allow working teachers to understand their rights, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it