The Executive Yuan yesterday proposed amendments to the National Pension Act (國民年金法), with the government expecting to invest about NT$86 billion (US$2.72 billion) annually and an estimated 1.76 million people set to benefit.
The draft changes aim to raise benefit levels, ease means-testing thresholds and introduce a mechanism to adjust payments in line with price changes, the Cabinet told a news conference in Taipei.
The proposed amendments would significantly boost several payout categories, Ministry of Health and Welfare Department of Social Insurance Director-General Chang Yu-hsuan (張鈺旋) said.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
The basic monthly guaranteed amount for pensions would rise from NT$4,049 to NT$5,000, an increase of 23.5 percent, while the basic guaranteed disability pension would be raised from NT$5,437 to NT$6,715, she said.
The adjustments would help recipients cope with rising prices and maintain their basic purchasing power, the ministry said.
The proposed amendments would also relax “wealth exclusion” clauses to ensure that fewer people are disqualified due to asset valuations.
The annual personal income threshold would be raised from NT$500,000 to NT$600,000, while the real-estate asset cap would be adjusted to NT$10.25 million, the draft says.
To prevent people from losing pension eligibility because they own and live in a house, the cap on deductions for self-occupied residences would be removed, so such properties would no longer be included in asset calculations, it says.
To ensure that benefits better reflect price fluctuations and preserve real purchasing power, adjustments to the basic pension amounts would no longer be limited to reviews every four years, the draft says.
If the cumulative increase in the consumer price index reaches 3 percent within two years, an immediate adjustment could be made, it says.
Requirements that spouses pay premiums for the insured would also be removed.
Currently, spouses who fail to pay premiums on behalf of the insured within a stipulated period face fines.
Asked whether the changes would help boost participation in the national pension program, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said he hoped they would lead to higher contribution rates.
The cumulative contribution rate for the national pension is about 60 percent, rising to about 90 percent among those aged 65 or older, he said.
The national pension is designed to allow people to continue accumulating contribution while transitioning between jobs, enabling them to receive higher retirement benefits while being covered by labor insurance during their working years, he said.
The bill is to be sent to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation.
If the increased benefits are to be implemented from this year, the funding could only be allocated after the central government’s general budget completes statutory procedures, the Cabinet said, adding that it would need to be covered through a supplementary budget of NT$16.98 billion.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
‘SALAMI-SLICING’: Beijing’s ‘gray zone’ tactics around the Pratas Islands have been slowly intensifying, with the PLA testing Taiwan’s responses and limits, an expert said The Ministry of National Defense yesterday condemned an intrusion by a Chinese drone into the airspace of the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) as a serious disruption of regional peace. The ministry said it detected the Chinese surveillance and reconnaissance drone entering the southwestern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone early yesterday, and it approached the Pratas Islands at 5:41am. The ministry said it immediately notified the garrison stationed in the area to enhance aerial surveillance and alert levels, and the drone was detected in the islands’ territorial airspace at 5:44am, maintaining an altitude outside the effective range of air-defense weaponry. Following
RSS