A new incentive program that offers early retirees or middle-aged people NT$30,000 to return to work has been launched as part of government efforts to increase the pool of available workers amid a tight labor market.
The new incentive, which is retroactive to Feb. 1 this year, applies to “legal retirees” aged 45 or older, or people aged 55 or older who are unemployed, the Ministry of Labor said in a statement yesterday.
“Legal retirees” refer to those who have begun receiving retirement pensions, such as labor pensions, the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
The retirement age in Taiwan is 65, but people can begin drawing pensions after having worked for 25 years or at the age of 55 if they have worked for at least 15 years.
To be eligible for the incentive, the person must have been away from the workplace for a minimum of three months, apply for the program through a public employment service agency, get their jobs through a recommendation by an agency and remain employed for at least 90 days, the ministry said.
Once an applicant completes 90 days of full-time work, they are entitled to a NT$30,000 subsidy, while part-time workers who meet the criteria can get a NT$15,000 subsidy, it said.
All workers can collect the subsidy for rejoining the workplace up to two times.
The new measure, as well as others in a package aimed at encouraging older people to rejoin the workforce, are expected to benefit 60,000 people each year, the ministry said.
The nation is trying to increase workforce participation amid low unemployment and an increasingly tight pool of workers as Taiwanese society ages rapidly.
The nation’s labor force participation rate for people aged 55 to 59 was 61.78 percent, compared with 77.68 percent for those in the 50-to-54 age bracket, government data from December last year showed.
By international standards, Taiwan’s 59.6 percent labor force participation rate for people aged 55 to 59 in 2022 was well below that in the US (73.1 percent), Japan (78 percent), and South Korea (76.4 percent), the ministry said.
The data indicated that there is still room for more Taiwanese aged 55 or older to rejoin the workforce, it said.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
RSS