I need some help with understanding the Taiwan National Pension Insurance. My wife, who’s Taiwanese but moved to the U.S. as a kid, recently came back to Taiwan, reactivated her household registry, and got her national ID. She’s never worked in Taiwan and probably won’t in the future.
She got a letter about the National Pension Insurance and we’re a bit confused. Can anyone help with these questions?
Does she have to join this pension plan, or is it optional?
If she does have to join, how much would she need to pay each month?
How does not having worked in Taiwan affect her status, especially in terms of income?
Are there any special rules or exemptions for people with no or low income?
My wife managed to opt out of it but there was a bit of a process and some different future possibilities involved I never quite understood. Go and talk to them or call, I’d suggest.
The National Pension Insurance scheme or 國民年金 is mandatory for all citizens with HHR, aged 25yrs~65yrs old, who does not have any other forms of insurance (Labor, agriculture, military etc) “只要您年滿25歲、未滿65歲，在國內設有戶籍，且沒有參加勞保、農保、公教保、軍保的國民，都是國民年金的納保對象喔！”
If she does not have any income or her income is below the threshold (國民年金被保險人所得未達一定標準), she can apply to the 區公所 of her district to halve the premium that needs to be paid monthly. She needs to fill up a “切結書” there and after it’s passed, she only needs to pay half the premium. This needs to be done every year or two I believe.
For low income families (低收入), it’s free to join the 國民年金 as everything is paid by the Govt.!
Is there a minimum amount of years one needs to contribute to get the “full” benefit or is the benefit you start to receive at 65 years old, based upon how much you contributed?
Or similarly, assuming you contribute NT$1,186 monthly (or whatever it increases to yearly) for x years until one turns 65, is there a table or formula to calculate the amount you can expect to receive upon retirement?
