The Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan will review 11 cases including the "Draft Amendment to Article 39 of the Service Regulations for Army, Navy, and Air Force Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers" proposed by 22 people including Kuomintang legislator Lai Shibao tomorrow (11th) to amend the standards, frequency and indicators for salary adjustment. The latest written report of the Ministry of National Defense pointed out that the planning of the military retirement and pension system aims to achieve the goal of "long-term retention" of human resources, and the regular retirement and compensation adjustment mechanism aims to protect the basic living and family care needs of veterans, while taking into account the sustainable development of national finance and funds.
The Foreign Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan will tomorrow review 11 cases including the "Draft Amendment to Article 39 of the Service Regulations for Army, Navy and Air Force Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers" proposed by members of the Kuomintang League, including 22 people including Lai Shibao, 18 people including Lin Siming, and 22 people including Ma Wenjun. The pension adjustment mechanism will be revised to the point that it should be adjusted when the cumulative growth rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reaches ±3%, or reviewed at least every two years.
20 people including Chen Yongkang, 20 people including Chen Yuzhen, and 20 people including Lin Qianqi were revised to review the retirement salary simultaneously with the salary increase of active-duty personnel, and the increase range is the same as that of active-duty personnel, or review and increase at least every three years; 17 people including Zhang Zhilun, Luo Tingwei and other 16 people revised it to the point where the cumulative CPI growth rate reaches ±5%, then the adjustment will be based on that growth rate; Wang Hongwei and 18 other people revised it to when the cumulative CPI growth rate reaches ±5%, they will adjust based on the growth rate, or review it at least every three years.
Xu Xinying and other 23 people revised that when the cumulative CPI growth rate of elderly families reaches ±2%, it should be adjusted. In addition, the retirement pay and alimony paid by officers and non-commissioned officers after retirement are recalculated with the adjustment of the basic salary of employees of the same level. Xu Qiaoxin and other 19 people revised that when the CPI cumulative growth rate reaches ±3%, it should be adjusted. The adjustment rate should not be less than 1/2 of the CPI cumulative growth rate.
The Ministry of National Defense stated in a written report that Article 39 of the current Service Regulations clearly stipulates that retirement pay adjustments should be adjusted when the cumulative CPI growth rate reaches ±5%. The adjustment rate shall be determined by the Executive Yuan in conjunction with the Examination Yuan, taking into account the national economic environment, government finances, and pension fund preparation rates; or it shall be reviewed at least every four years. The current legal mechanism, in addition to the need for adjustment when the CPI reaches 5%, also includes regular reviews "at least every four years", which can appropriately handle situations where the CPI does not reach 5%. Whether the adjustment target needs to be lowered to 2% or 3% should be carefully evaluated.
The Ministry of National Defense pointed out that according to the definition of the Accountant General Office of the Executive Yuan, elderly households refer to "households whose members are all over the age of 65." Military personnel's family structures vary, and not all members may be over 65 years old. Different types of families have different living needs, and their price changes are also different. Moreover, households have the characteristics of resource sharing, and consumption expenditures on various goods or services may be used by other family members. If the CPI of elderly households is used instead, the actual demand may not be properly reflected.
The Ministry of National Defense emphasized that the retirement pension fund is currently jointly set up by the government and active-duty personnel, and is deducted from salary. After retirement, retirement pay will be paid at a benefit rate of 70% for the counseling committee and 30% for the retirement fund. Since retired personnel have no longer paid pension fund fees, if the amount of retirement benefits is adjusted simultaneously with the salary increase of active-duty personnel, or the calculation base is adjusted to be the same as the current position, resulting in retirement income and on-the-job benefits being similar, it may reduce the willingness of officers and soldiers to serve for a long time, affect the stability of the force's manpower, and lead to an imbalance between pension fund payment obligations and payment rights. It will also increase government financial expenditures and impact the sustainability of the pension fund.
