Established in 1950, the labor insurance system was the first social insurance system to be established in Taiwan, and this year marks its 65th anniversary. Over the past few decades, the system has been increasingly expanded in terms of coverage and scope of benefits. As a result, the Labor Insurance Act has been amended numerous times. Statistics tabulated by the Bureau of Labor Insurance (BLI) help to illustrate how labor insurance services have evolved over time. To demonstrate the achievements of the labor insurance system, the BLI has consolidated comprehensive year-on-year (YoY) statistics for labor insurance coverage and benefit payments since its establishment in 1950. This information is published on the BLI’s website and may be freely accessed by the public.
The scope of coverage of the labor insurance system has been continuously expanded over the years. In 1950, the insurance system was only applicable to industrial workers. In 1951 and 1953, respectively, the system was extended to cover craft workers and professional workers in the fishery industry. Later, technicians, drivers, and janitors working in government agencies and public schools became covered in 1965. In 1970, it became mandatory for companies with ten or more employees to participate in the labor insurance system. In 1979, this requirement was extended to include companies with five or more employees. During the same year, people working in the industries of journalism, culture, public welfare, and cooperative industries, as well as trainees of occupational training institutions, also became covered by labor insurance. In 1988, all fishery production companies became required to enroll their employees. In 2012, the maximum age for compulsory enrollment was raised from 60 to 65. At the time of its implementation in 1950, the total number of insured was about 120,000. By the end of 2014, the total number of insured surpassed 9.92 million. Over the past 65 years, a cumulative total of more than 24 million people have participated in the labor insurance system.
In terms of the scope of benefits offered, the labor insurance system initially only offered five kinds of benefits: maternity benefits, injury benefits, disability benefits, old-age benefits, and death benefits. In 1956, the BLI began offering inpatient hospitalization benefits. Outpatient benefits were added in 1960. Following the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) in 1995, the medical benefits of ordinary insurance business, which was originally managed by the BLI, was transferred to the Bureau of National Health Insurance. Occupational accident medical benefits, however, remain under the jurisdiction of the BLI. In addition, the labor insurance pension system implemented in 2009 has further improved the quality of life of Taiwan’s workforce.
As of December 2014, the BLI has administered more than 1,092,360,000 benefit payments over its 65-year period amounting to a total amount of more than NT$4.0301 trillion. Maternity benefits in particular have continued to record year-on-year growth. Compared to the 1,391 cases in 1950, the number of cases reached a peak in 1994 at more than 320,000 cases. During the early years of the system, however, female workers were entitled to receive a maternity benefit equal to one month of the insured salary, as well as a delivery expense of the same amount. Male workers were likewise eligible to apply for delivery expenses on behalf of their spouses equal to one month of the insured salary. After the NHI system was rolled out in 1995, the responsibility of administering delivery expense (including delivery expense for the spouse of a male insured and that of a female insured) was transferred from the BLI to the NHI system. However, the law was revised so that only a female insured could be eligible to apply for the one-month maternity benefit. As a direct result of this change, the number of maternity benefit claims decreased after 1995.
Due to Taiwan’s decreasing birthrate, the number of maternity benefit payment processed by the BLI has fallen each year. By 2004, the total number of maternity benefit payments fell to a low of approximately 99,000. A slight uptick has been seen in recent years due to various government policies promoting childbirth. Following the amendment of the Labor Insurance Act in 2014, the amount of maternity benefits was increased to two-months of the insured salary. For multiple births, the benefit amount will be calculated and increased on a proportionate basis. These changes have significantly improved the protections afforded to workers. In 2014, the total number of benefit payments exceeded 140,000. Since the implementation of the maternity benefits program, the BLI has administered more than 7.66 million claims amounting to approximately NT$119.4 billion.
Aside from maternity benefits, one of the items that concerns the general public most is old-age benefits. In Taiwan, the population of individuals aged 65 and above continues to rise each year. As a result, old-age benefit payments administered by the BLI have also increased. Compared with the 40 cases at the very beginning, the number of cases processed in 1994 exceeded 50,000. Following the implementation of the NHI system in 1995, some insured workers were withdrawn from the labor insurance system. There was also a dramatic increase in the number of old-age benefits paid during the same year (more than 200,000 cases). The volume gradually stabilized in the following years. In 2008, there was a surge of old-age benefit claims because of the implementation of the National Pension Program and impending enforcement of the Labor Insurance Pension System at the time. The total number of old-age benefit payments during that year increased to 290,000 cases or more.
Since the establishment of the Labor Insurance Pension System in 2009, the number of old-age benefit payments has continuously increased due to the annual increase in the number of people who receive a pension. In 2012, the financial issue of the Labor Insurance System has attracted wide concern from the public and led to another surge for the lump-sum old-age benefit payment. While such claims slowed down in 2014, the number of pension receivers is still increasing each year. In 2014, the total number of benefit payments has increased to more than 710,000 cases. During the past 65 years, there are more than 3.78 million people who have received the old-age benefits. The total payment amount has accumulated to NT$2.5835 trillion.
The Labor Insurance System provides life-long care and integrated coverage to workers. By participating in the system, workers are guaranteed better protection for their life. You are welcome to visit the BLI’s official website (http://www.bli.gov.tw) to review or download the “Annual Statistics for the Labor Insurance System Since Its Inception” (http://www.bli.gov.tw/sub.aspx?a=A6QMGwrGnC0%3d). The BLI will update this information each year. (Please note that this information is temporarily only available in Chinese.)