A teachers’ union yesterday criticized pension reform amendments that remove requirements for savings to be deposited in pension funds.
“This amounts to committing theft under the cover of putting out a fire,” National Federation of Education Unions vice president Liu Ya-ping (劉亞平) said. “The Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] has claimed that reforms are necessary to prevent pension funds from going bankrupt, but they do not want to return savings to the funds.”
Liu was referring to a decision by a joint legislative committee meeting on Monday to strike out provisions requiring that all government savings be reinvested into pension funds in favor of language stipulating that money saved by the central government should be invested.
A significant portion of savings from proposed pension reforms comes from phasing out preferential rates for savings accounts of public employees, which are financed by ordinary central and local government budget outlays.
Liu compared the current draft language to “cutting out the bladder to treat appendicitis,” saying that interest from preferential savings accounts should instead be deducted from the amount of money retirees are allowed to withdraw from pension funds.
As local government expenditures comprise 70 percent of the revenue savings, only requiring the reinvestment of central government savings would postpone funds’ bankruptcies by six years instead of 16, federation president Huang Yao-nan (黃耀南) said.
DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), who chaired the joint committee meeting, has argued against reinvesting government savings, saying that such funds belong to all citizens and that pensions would eventually require further reform to head off bankruptcy, regardless of whether savings are reinvested.
The committee’s decision has also drawn criticism from Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億), while DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that the issue would be revisited in general assembly negotiations.
Questions regarding the size of union members’ pensions drew an angry response from Liu, who reportedly retired this year.
“If President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and all of the DPP’s politically appointed officials donate all the money they have received from preferential savings accounts, I will donate mine,” Liu said, while declining to reveal the amount of his pension.
Additional reporting by Tseng Wei-chen
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
Garbage and recycling schedules are to vary from Saturday through Sunday next week over the Lunar New Year holiday period. The following collection information is from the governments of the six special municipalities. Taipei Regular service: Sunday to Monday next week. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Extra service: Friday next week. Regular service resumes: Saturday next week. New Taipei City Extra service: Sunday. Adjusted collection time: Monday next week — garbage collection is to begin in the morning and end at 6pm. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Regular service resumes: Friday next week. Note: Garbage can be dropped off at 70
A KFC branch in Kaohsiung may be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$200 million (US$1,907 and US$6.37 million), after a customer yesterday found an entire AAA battery inside an egg tart, the Kaohsiung Department of Health said today. The customer was about to microwave a box of egg tarts they had bought at the fast-food restaurant’s Nanzih (楠梓) branch when they checked the bottom and saw a dark shadow inside one of them, they said in a Threads post. The customer filmed themself taking the egg tart apart to reveal an entire AAA battery inside, which apparently showed signs of damage. Surveillance footage showed
GROUP EFFORT: The number of inbound travelers rose 11 to 12 percent last month, with a significant increase in tourists from Europe and North America, an official said The government aims to attract 9.4 million visitors this year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday, citing last year’s success in diversifying tourist markets. Taiwan last year drew about 8.57 million international arrivals, 72.3 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels. By contrast, the nation had about 18.94 million outbound tourists last year, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 level of 17.1 million. The estimated tourism revenue deficit was about NT$700.9 billion (US$22.22 billion). Taoyuan International Airport Corp expects more than 160,000 passengers to pass through the nation’s largest airport daily during the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Saturday. As of Jan. 30, the nation’s average hotel occupancy rate
RSS