Starting from January 1 this year (2013), National Pension premiums will be calculated according to a premium rate of 7.5%. The self-paid premium for ordinary insured persons will rise from NT$726 to NT$778. The Bureau of Labor Insurance, Council of Labor Affairs has already sent out the National Pension premium payment slips for January and February 2013 towards the end of March; premiums for these two months have been calculated according to the adjusted premium rate.
Pursuant to Article 10 of the National Pension Act, the premium rate was set at 6.5% in the first year of implementation of the National Pension system, to be raised by 0.5% in the third year of implementation, and thereafter to be raised by 0.5% every two years up to a maximum level of 12%. However, if the National Pension Insurance Fund has sufficient funds to cover pension payments for the next 20 years, then the premium rate need not be raised. To ensure that financial soundness of the National Pension Insurance Fund, the Ministry of the Interior announced on December 27, 2012 that, starting from January 1, 2013, the National Pension premium rate would be raised from 7% to 7.5%.
Although, following this adjustment, the amount of monthly premiums that insured persons will need to pay will rise from NT$26 to NT$52, there will also be an increase in government subsidization of premiums. The monthly premium amount before and after the adjustment for different categories of insured persons is shown in the table below:
|
Category
|
Self-paid Rate
|
Amount of Self-paid Premium
Before Adjustment (7%)
|
Amount of Self-paid Premium
After Adjustment (7.5%)
|
Disparity
|
|
Ordinary insured persons
|
60%
|
NT$726
|
NT$778
|
NT$52
|
|
Members of low-income households
|
0%
|
NT$0
|
NT$0
|
NT$0
|
|
Persons suffering from severe or very severe mental or physical disability
|
0%
|
NT$0
|
NT$0
|
NT$0
|
|
Persons suffering from moderate mental or physical disability
|
30%
|
NT$363
|
NT$389
|
NT$26
|
|
Persons suffering from mild mental or physical disability
|
45%
|
NT$544
|
NT$583
|
NT$39
|
|
Persons whose income is less than 1.5 times the stipulated minimum living expenditure level
|
30%
|
NT$363
|
NT$389
|
NT$26
|
|
Persons whose income is less than 2 times the stipulated minimum living expenditure level
|
45%
|
NT$544
|
NT$583
|
NT$39
|
The Bureau of Labor Insurance has already sent out the National Pension insurance premium payment slips for January and February 2013 in late March. The premiums have been calculated according to the adjusted premium rate; insured persons will be expected to pay their premiums in accordance with the regulations. Members of households with a low total household income can apply to the city, county or district office for the locality where they are considered to be resident for household registration purposes for certification as having “income that falls below a specified level,” so as to reduce the amount of premiums that they are required to pay.