Taiwan pledges support for labor insurance fund stability
TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Labor Minister Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) assured Monday (Nov. 24) the government will absolutely not let Taiwan's labor insurance system fail, revealing comprehensive plans to legislate financial support for the fund affecting 10 million workers. Hung emphasized the administration's strong commitment to stabilizing the fund during a detailed POP Radio interview. The minister's important assurance comes as significant demographic challenges threaten the system's long-term sustainability.
The Executive Yuan (行政院), Taiwan's cabinet, officially approved comprehensive amendments to Articles 66 and 69 of the Labor Insurance Act Thursday (Nov. 20). These significant amendments emphasize the government's crucial role in supplementing the labor insurance fund, with central authority responsible for annual budget allocations based on fiscal conditions. Hung noted strong consensus among lawmakers to pass this important legislation during the Legislative Yuan's (立法院), Taiwan's parliament, upcoming session.
The government has allocated more than NT$517 billion (around US$16.5 billion) to support the fund since 2020 for system stability. Hung explained fiscal discipline laws prevent setting fixed amounts, though annual supplements consistently exceed NT$100 billion (around US$3.2 billion). The minister highlighted the fund's robust investment performance, with last year's profit ranging between 16% and 17%, and this year's expected return of 7% to 8% despite U.S. tariff impacts.
Hung acknowledged significant demographic shifts, including declining birthrate and aging population, necessitate urgent government intervention in the fund. These major changes pose substantial challenges to labor policies and execution across Taiwan's entire workforce. The Ministry of Labor (勞動部) reports the fund's size has reached NT$1.2 trillion (around US$38.2 billion), aided by diverse investments and increasing budgetary allocations. ◼ (At time of reporting, US$1 equals approximately NT$31.4)