TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Legislators in Taiwan passed a contentious amendment to the "Police Personnel Management Act" (警察人員人事條例) on Tuesday (Jan. 7) that raises the maximum pension income replacement rate for retired police officers to 80%. The opposition Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 台灣民眾黨) collaborated to push the legislation through the Legislative Yuan (Taiwan's parliament) , surpassing the pre-reform rate of 75%.
The income replacement ratio is the ratio of the average monthly disposable amount after retirement to the monthly salary at the time of retirement. Maintaining a certain income replacement ratio is crucial to the standard of living after retirement. KMT Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) argued that the policy addresses the reluctance of police officers to retire due to significant income drops. He criticized past policies as a financial burden, mentioning Taiwan Power Company's (台電) NT$200 billion loss.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民主進步黨) Legislator Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠) questioned the fairness of the proposal, noting that police already receive special allowances superior to other civil servants. Shen warned that the amendment could lead to disparities, with police pensions potentially exceeding those of military officers, and highlighted differences in replacement rates among healthcare workers and Taiwan Railway Corporation (台鐵) drivers.
Minister of Civil Service Jay Shih (施能傑) also opposed the amendment, stating it unfairly favors police and could demoralize other civil servants. KMT Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) challenged Shih's past silence on pension reform impacts and urged him to advocate for civil servants in future discussions. Chang Chih-lun (張智倫), another KMT legislator, emphasized that the amendment addresses the concerns of frontline workers, seeking to ensure fairness and justice.
