MOI hopes more national pension insurance enrollees pay premiums
Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) Taiwan hopes to encourage more individuals eligible for the government-run national pension insurance program to pay premiums so that they can have some financial security when they get older, the vice interior minister said Friday.
A total of 4.1 million people are eligible for the program, a social insurance system covering individuals in the 25-65 age group who are not enrolled in national labor insurance systems for public servants, military personnel, teachers, workers and farmers.
Although all of those eligible are forcibly enrolled in the program, they are free to decide whether or not they want to pay the premium that entitles them to receive a monthly pension after they are 65 years old.
At present, 60 percent of those eligible paid their premiums in 2009 — a ratio similar to that seen in Japan and South Korea — but the government hopes to push the ratio higher, said Vice Interior Minister Chien Tai-lang at a conference held by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to review the pension insurance system.
Chien said more than 1 million people had already benefited from the program since it was put into practice on Oct. 1, 2008, with a total of NT$37.9 billion (US$1.17 billion) being disbursed to the insured.
Around 870,000 of the beneficiaries are senior citizens who were receiving senior citizen pensions under a program that was incorporated into the national pension insurance scheme.
Chan Hou-sheng, a professor in National Taiwan University’s Department of Social Work, warned that because most of those under 65 enrolled in the program are economically disadvantaged, the scheme could turn into a “social relief” program if the government fails to increase the number of those eligible who actually pay for the insurance.
At present, the monthly premium for pension insurance costs NT$1,123, with 60 percent of the total, or NT$674, to be paid by the insured and the remaining 40 percent to be picked up by the government.
The government’s portion of the bill rises by varying degrees if the insured are physically or mentally challenged or live in poverty.
Chan cautioned that the government’s financial burden will grow as more people turn 65 and become eligible to receive monthly stipends, and he suggested that measures be taken to adjust the system by reviewing and collecting data on all of the other existing pension systems in the country. (By Shih Sin-yao and Elizabeth Hsu)
More Info: http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=174456&CtNode=39
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