The government is mulling restrictions that would stop Taiwanese who live abroad from being able to collect a national pension if they register for benefits only a year or two before reaching the age of 65.
From 2008 to 2016, 4,508 expatriates registered their households in Taiwan at the age of 63 or 64 and began collecting a pension at 65, government statistics showed.
The 4,508 beneficiaries represented less than 1 percent of the 790,000 people receiving a pension under the system, but their payouts, which range from NT$3,000 to NT$3,800 (US$97.05 to US$123) per month, cost the national pension insurance system about NT$200 million in 2016.
As some people believe that the arrangement is unfair to citizens who have paid premiums into the system since it was launched in 2008, changes could be in the works, Ministry of Health and Welfare Department of Social Insurance Director Shang Tung-fu (商東福) said on Monday.
The government is mulling imposing certain restrictions on expatriates who are entitled to receive a monthly pension, despite having enrolled in the program for only a year or two, Shang said.
Lawmakers have also proposed revisions to the program that would require expatriates to have resided in Taiwan for at least 183 days per year over the past three years to be eligible for benefits, he added.
However, revisions will likely not be made until a social consensus on the issue has been forged, Shang said.
The government-run national pension insurance program, which was launched on Oct. 1, 2008, covers individuals aged 25 to 65 who are not enrolled in the national labor insurance systems for public servants, military personnel, teachers, workers and farmers.
The program has raised concerns since its inception because of questions over whether the amount being paid in could cover benefits and the government’s role as the system’s final guarantor, meaning it could drain public coffers.
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