Premier Sean Chen announced today that the government's year-end pension bonuses for 2012 will only be distributed to certain disadvantaged retirees. The decision was made on the principles of fairness, justice and caring for the vulnerable, he said.
"The bonuses will be limited to two categories of government pensioners: those with monthly retirement pensions of less than NT$20,000 (US$683), and those injured in the line of duty or families of those killed in action," Chen explained. The former consists mostly of people who retired with low wages during tough economic times, while the latter are those who were killed, injured or disabled during combat or military exercises.
"After a lifetime of service, some government retirees and veterans have only a meager pension to count on as their income. The state is obligated to take care of them," Chen added.
"To them I would like to express my gratitude and respect, because they gave the best years of their lives to the country."
Chen stressed that the year-end bonuses are subject to review every year, and this year's principle was to care for the disadvantaged while considering the government's fiscal ability.
Chen indicated that credit for Taiwan's development goes to people from all sectors. However, the current economic downturn has added to the financial stresses of salaried employees while widening the nation's fiscal gap. In response to public calls for changes to the pension bonuses, the Executive Yuan has reviewed and adjusted the system for fairness as well as social responsibility, and hopes all citizens can come together during these difficult times.