A survey of Taiwanese aged 50 to 64 has found that they think they would need savings of NT$8.37 million (US$275,193) to retire, or NT$1.12 million more than they would be likely to receive from government-run retirement programs.
The survey, conducted by the Hondao Senior Citizen’s Welfare Foundation late last year and presented at a news conference yesterday, found that 84 percent of respondents felt they had not saved enough to meet their long-term medical and care needs while also having funds in reserve in case of an emergency.
Asked how much they would need for those purposes, 30 percent of respondents said they would need more than NT$10 million and about another 50 percent said at least NT$5 million, the foundation said, adding that this worked out to an average of NT$8.37 million.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
Foundation deputy chairman Lin Po-hua (林博樺) said that based on the NT$8.37 million figure and Taiwan’s life expectancy of 81 years, a person who retired aged 65 would have NT$43,594 per month to live on.
However, data from the Labor Insurance Bureau showed that last year the average retiree received a monthly pension and labor insurance annuity payments of only NT$19,573 and NT$18,209 respectively, or a combined NT$37,782, Lin said.
This means that government-backed retirement benefits fall short of people’s desired retirement savings by NT$1.12 million, or NT$5,812 per month, he said.
Meanwhile, the survey also asked respondents about their views on a range of topics related to personal finances and investment.
It found that 43 percent of those surveyed had a low-risk profile, but also hoped for high returns on their investments.
Asked where they got their information on financial products, many respondents said they relied on only one or two sources, with the most common being “financial institution representatives,” “friends and family” and “television advertisements.”
When buying financial products, about 20 percent of those surveyed said they did not bother to read the terms of the contract, while 15 percent said they read the contracts, but could not understand them.
Only 23 percent of respondents reported that they read the contracts and fully understood them.
The foundation’s survey was conducted via its Web site and Facebook and Line groups in November and December last year. It collected 697 valid responses from adults aged 50 to 64.
No margin of error information was provided.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS