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March 18, 2010, China Times [Report by Tang Zhenyu / Taipei]
Health insurance premiums are rising, and labor insurance is set to increase as well! According to the Labor Insurance Act, starting January 1 next year, the labor insurance premium rate will rise from the current 6.5% to 7%, meaning at least 9.08 million workers across Taiwan will see higher premium payments. However, the hidden liabilities of labor insurance still amount to a staggering NT$1.1 trillion, and the system will likely go bankrupt in at most 17 years.
Wang Ru-hsuan, Minister of the Council of Labor Affairs, stated yesterday at the Legislative Yuan's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee that after the implementation of the labor pension annuity system, the lump-sum payment amount has decreased, and the premium rate can be gradually increased to 12% as stipulated by law, temporarily delaying the bankruptcy of labor insurance. According to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Insurance, the labor insurance fund's size was approximately NT$297.1 billion by the end of February, while around 1.73 million people are eligible to claim old-age benefits. If all of them were to claim, labor insurance would have to pay out NT$1.4655 trillion, leaving the system with liabilities exceeding NT$1 trillion.
Legislator Hou Tsai-feng questioned why the financial situation of labor insurance, which is clearly more severe than that of health insurance, hasn't drawn more attention. "Health insurance has already been rescued from the ICU, but labor insurance is already at stage three cancer—why haven’t we heard the Council of Labor Affairs making any noise about it?"
Wang Ru-hsuan responded that the financial pressure on labor insurance has been immense since she took office. After former Premier Liu Chao-shiuan learned about the severity of the fragile financial structure of labor insurance, he tasked the Council for Economic Planning and Development to study solutions for all social insurance financial issues.
Hou Tsai-feng pressed further, asking whether Wang would "wave her sleeves and leave" over labor insurance finances, as former Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang did, or if she would take responsibility and seek loans. Wang did not directly answer but emphasized, "During my term, apart from legal requirements, I absolutely will not raise the premium rate," expressing hope that government subsidies would resolve the long-standing financial black hole in labor insurance.
The Labor Insurance Act stipulates that after the pension annuity system is implemented, the premium rate will automatically increase by 0.5 percentage points in the third year. This means that starting next year, at least 9.08 million workers in Taiwan will face higher labor insurance premiums. Based on the average insured salary of NT$28,043 for all labor insurance participants, general employees will see a monthly premium increase of NT$28, while those insured through occupational unions will face an increase of NT$84 per month.
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 100318/ 4/ 228w6. html
Larger Labor Insurance Gap: 9 Million to See Premium Hike Next Year
Health insurance premiums are rising, and labor insurance is set to increase as well! According to the Labor Insurance Act, starting January 1 next year, the labor insurance premium rate will rise from the current 6.5% to 7%, meaning at least 9.08 million workers across Taiwan will see higher premium payments. However, the hidden liabilities of labor insurance still amount to a staggering NT$1.1 trillion, and the system will likely go bankrupt in at most 17 years.
Wang Ru-hsuan, Minister of the Council of Labor Affairs, stated yesterday at the Legislative Yuan's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee that after the implementation of the labor pension annuity system, the lump-sum payment amount has decreased, and the premium rate can be gradually increased to 12% as stipulated by law, temporarily delaying the bankruptcy of labor insurance. According to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Insurance, the labor insurance fund's size was approximately NT$297.1 billion by the end of February, while around 1.73 million people are eligible to claim old-age benefits. If all of them were to claim, labor insurance would have to pay out NT$1.4655 trillion, leaving the system with liabilities exceeding NT$1 trillion.
Legislator Hou Tsai-feng questioned why the financial situation of labor insurance, which is clearly more severe than that of health insurance, hasn't drawn more attention. "Health insurance has already been rescued from the ICU, but labor insurance is already at stage three cancer—why haven’t we heard the Council of Labor Affairs making any noise about it?"
Wang Ru-hsuan responded that the financial pressure on labor insurance has been immense since she took office. After former Premier Liu Chao-shiuan learned about the severity of the fragile financial structure of labor insurance, he tasked the Council for Economic Planning and Development to study solutions for all social insurance financial issues.
Hou Tsai-feng pressed further, asking whether Wang would "wave her sleeves and leave" over labor insurance finances, as former Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang did, or if she would take responsibility and seek loans. Wang did not directly answer but emphasized, "During my term, apart from legal requirements, I absolutely will not raise the premium rate," expressing hope that government subsidies would resolve the long-standing financial black hole in labor insurance.
The Labor Insurance Act stipulates that after the pension annuity system is implemented, the premium rate will automatically increase by 0.5 percentage points in the third year. This means that starting next year, at least 9.08 million workers in Taiwan will face higher labor insurance premiums. Based on the average insured salary of NT$28,043 for all labor insurance participants, general employees will see a monthly premium increase of NT$28, while those insured through occupational unions will face an increase of NT$84 per month.
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 100318/ 4/ 228w6. html