Military Begins Informing Veterans About New Pension System|軍改拚7/1上路 年金重算通知函寄出

The Legislative Yuan recently passed the third reading of the military pension reform bill. On June 26, The Ministry of National Defense announced it has already begun sending out notices on pension recalculations to veterans. The new pension system will take effect on July 1, and veterans will have a 30-day period after receiving the notices, to inquire about any doubts with the ministry.


The legislature recently passed the third reading of a military pension reform bill, which requires the recalculation of military pensions. The Ministry of National Defense has begun sending out notices by registered mail to inform veterans about the pension recalculations. There are 200,000 records, including 112,000 monthly annuity payments and preferential savings records, and 94,000 lump sum payment records. If veterans have any questions, they can call a ministry hotline within 30 days after receiving the notice to file an appeal.

We will prioritize the mailing of notices to residents of outlying islands and those who will suffer the greatest losses from these reforms. If they have any doubts about the content, they can appeal.

(Will the military pension reforms take effect on July 1, or will they be postponed?) At present, there won't be any change.

The ministry says 98 percent of active duty military personnel will benefit from the reforms, as the pension calculation rate will be increased from 40 percent to 55 percent for those who serve at least 20 years. For each additional year served, another 2 percent will be added. This means the rate will increase with the number of service years. For those who joined the military before Jan. 1, 1997, around 2,000 will be affected by the combining of the preferential interest rate regulations of the old and new systems and they will receive anywhere from a dozen or so NT dollars to over 10,000 less depending on the rank at which they retired. However, this will not apply to those who do not reach the monthly minimum pension of NT$38,990. There have been questions as to whether these reforms will have a negative impact on recruitment. The ministry says the three service academies have reported an improved recruitment situation this year compared to last year.

In June, when the pension reforms were taking place, we accepted 1,723 students. They are currently reporting for duty. This is much better than last year.

Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Thomas Christensen recently said Taiwan's shift to an all-volunteer military will make the military smaller and more expensive, which is not in line with Taiwan's asymmetric warfare strategy. In response, the ministry said it conducted a comprehensive analysis before making the decision and it will continue to promote the all-volunteer military.