The number of people registering for civil servant exams this year hit the lowest in eight years, despite job openings reaching a three-year high, government figures showed.
Registration for the two-day Civil Service Junior Examination and Level Three Senior Examination began yesterday, with 92,385 people registering.
The figure is down 3 percent from last year’s registrations, which is not a significant decline, said a Ministry of Examination official who requested anonymity.
Potential test-takers have been saying that they are considering giving up pursuing a career in public office, the official said.
The situation would likely worsen after the pension cuts come into effect on July 1 next year, the official added.
However, the ministry on Thursday said that pension reform is only one of many factors behind the fall in registration numbers, adding that attendance rates have been rising, despite the decline in registration.
Minister of Examination Tsai Tzung-jen (蔡宗珍) urged people not to jump to conclusions by looking at the numbers only, saying it could prevent them from seeing the root cause of the problem.
There is a wide range of factors that could have contributed to the decline, including low birth rates, socioeconomic reasons, changes in the number of job openings and a diversification of civil service qualification tests, she said.
Asked in what ways pension reform could affect registration numbers, Tsai said the deferred retirement age of 65 would decrease the number of job openings and might affect people’s willingness to take the tests.
The Legislative Yuan on Tuesday passed the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) that cut civil servants’ retirement benefits.
However, the change would not affect pensioners who receive less than NT$32,160 per month — the minimum monthly pension stipulated by the act.
The preferential 18 percent interest rate on savings of pensioners who receive NT$32,160 per month or more would be reduced to 9 percent from July 1 next year and would be reduced to zero on Jan. 1, 2021, according to the act.
For retirees who had received a lump sum payment, the preferential interest rate will be gradually cut to 6 percent over a six-year period, according to the act.
The act will also gradually lower the income replacement ratio for pensioners who receive NT$32,160 per month or more.
Those with 35 years of service will see their income replacement ratio drop from 75 percent to 60 percent over a 10-year period, while those with 15 years of service will see it fall from 45 percent to 30 percent over the same period, according to the act.
Additional reporting by CNA
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