The Cabinet said yesterday it intends to shift part of lotto profits earmarked for the national pension program to fund the proposed extension of senior-citizen stipends to retired workers.
Premier Yu Shyi-kun told reporters the funding will not delay the introduction of the national pension program, which may start soon after the legislature wraps up review of the draft law.
But opposition lawmakers expressed reservations about the arrangement, which they fear would further strain the nation's finances.
During an inspection tour of Nantou County, Yu said the Cabinet found it feasible to allow retired workers to collect a NT$3,000 monthly allowance -- now restricted to senior citizens aged 65 and older who are not covered by any pension benefits.
The expansion is expected to add some 111,000 recipients to the program at an additional cost of NT$4.4 billion a year. Currently, about 440,000 senior citizens are qualified for the stipend, which costs the government NT$16 billion annually.
The premier said the Cabinet will channel part of the lotto earnings designated for the national pension program to pay for the added expense.
"The spending will not crowd out the national pension program upon whose launch the senior-citizen stipends, transitional in nature, will be abolished," he said.
The national pension program, still in the planning stage, draws part of its income from lotto profits, which have contributed over NT$9.5 billion to the fund over the past eight months. It will take NT$20 billion to NT$30 billion to start the national pension program.
The lottery rules stipulate that 50 percent of lotto profits go to local governments for assorted welfare outlays, 45 percent go to the national pension fund, and the remaining 5 percent go to the national health insurance program.
The fund's supervisory board, staffed mainly by government officials, said it would approve the Cabinet's plan when asked to do so.
The premier, however, remained mum on proposals to qualify low-income and physically disabled citizens for the senior-citizen allowance, saying he needed more time to look into the matter.
DPP legislative leader Ker Chien-ming (
The lawmaker said the DPP has made the expansion its top task for the next legislative session and urged his opposition counterparts to help facilitate the legislation.
But both the KMT and PFP said they would not endorse the government "misusing" tax dollars, though they favor expanding the senior-citizen stipend.
KMT legislative leader Cheng Feng-shih (
"If the practice is allowed, the government may think it is alright to take money earmarked for civil servants' wages and spend it elsewhere as long as it can pay them back later," Cheng said.
Noting that various groups are demanding the stipend, he suggested the DPP administration promptly launch the national pension program to settle the issue once and for all.
PFP Legislator Shen Chih-hwei (
She said if the legislature allowed the government to use the pension fund for senior-citizen allowances, it would have to borrow again when the pension program goes into practice.
"Where will it find the money then?" Shen asked. "Such a patched-up style of leadership just won't do."
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