Chapter II Retirement
Section 3 Lump-Sum Survivor Benefit and Survivor Annuity
Article 43
After the death of a staff member receiving a monthly or partial monthly pension, his or her survivors will additionally be awarded a lump-sum survivor benefit. One-half of the amount payable shall be distributed to his or her spouse who has not remarried, and the remainder shall be paid in equal shares to his or her other survivors in the following order of precedence:
1. Children.
2. Parents.
3. Siblings.
4. Grandparents.
If a retired staff member does not have any surivors specified in subparagraphs 1 or 2 of the preceding paragraph, his or her lump-sum survivor benefit shall be distributed solely to his or her spouse who has not remarried. If he or she has no spouse, the distributable lump-sum survivor benefit shall be distributed to the survivors listed in the subparagraphs of the preceding paragraph in the order of precedence listed. If there are multiple survivors at the same level of precedence, the lump-sum survivor benefit will be distributed in equal shares among the eligible survivors at that level of precedence.
If any of the survivors at the same level of precedence waives the right, or because of a statutory cause loses the right, to receive the lump-sum survivor benefit, his or her share of the benefit shall be redistributed among the remainder of the survivors at the same level of precedence in accordance with the preceding two paragraphs. If there are no survivors at the highest level of precedence, the survivor benefit shall be distributed among the survivors at the next level of precedence in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
When multiple survivors at the same level of precedence who are eligible for distribution of lump-sum survivor benefit under the preceding three paragraphs make such a claim, they may mandate one from among themselves who has legal capacity to act to make the application on behalf of them all. If a survivor lacks legal capacity to act, his or her statutory agent shall make the application on his or her behalf.
Article 44
Lump-sum survivor benefits under the preceding article shall be calculated and paid as follows:
1. First calculate the retired staff member's distributable lump-sum pension payment, according to the payment standards applicable at the time the staff member retired, based on the staff member's approved years of service at retirement and the calculation basis and base unit content of the last monthly pension the staff member received. After deducting all monthly pension already received, distribute the remainder. If there is no remainder, no further distribution will be made.
2. Then additionally pay a lump-sum survivor benefit of 6 base units, each consisting of the last monthly base salary(or seniority salary)of personnel of the same salary grade during the retired staff member's active service plus 100 percent. This shall be paid regardless of whether there is any remainder under the preceding subparagraph.
Article 45
If a survivor under Article 43, paragraph 1 is the spouse, a minor child, an adult child with a physical or mental disability who is incapable of working, or a parent, and does not take the lump-sum survivor benefit, he or she may, in accordance with the provisions below, instead receive a survivor annuity of one-half of the monthly pension, or one-half of the partial monthly pension, received by the retired staff member at the time of death.
1. A spouse who meets one of the conditions below and who has not remarried may receive a lifelong annuity, provided that the statutory marriage relationship had existed for a cumulative duration of at least 10 years at the time of the retired staff member's death:
(1)Aged 55.
(2)Has a physical or mental disability and is incapable of working.
2. A minor child may receive the annuity until he or she reaches adulthood. However, an adult child with a physical or mental disability and is incapable of working may receive a lifelong annuity.
3. A parent may receive a lifelong annuity.
A spouse who has not remarried but who is not yet aged 55, and so is ineligible to receive the survivor annuity under subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph, may receive the lifelong survivor annuity from the day he or she reaches age 55.
A deceased retired staff member's spouse who has not remarried and who has a physical or mental disability and is incapable of working, or child who has a physical or mental disability and is incapable of working, under paragraph 1, subparagraph 1, item 2, or subparagraph 2, shall meet the statutory requirements of "severe" or greater physical or mental disability and have been issued a physical or mental disability manual or certificate, or be under a declaration of guardianship or assistance which has not been lifted, and each fiscal year shall submit income filing information from the preceding fiscal year to prove that the survivor's average monthly income does not exceed the statutory basic wage.
A survivor under any subparagraph of paragraph 1 may not opt for survivor annuity if the survivor receives any pension, bereavement compensation, preferential deposit interest, or other regular payment equivalent to pension or other separation pay, paid out of a government budget or by a government-owned enterprise, as granted under this Act or other laws or regulations. However, this restriction shall not apply if the survivor chooses to waive the regular payment distributable to the survivor himself or herself, and the authority originally responsible for the distribution of the regular payment agrees.
After a deceased retired staff member's survivor has opted for a survivor annuity under paragraph 1, if distribution of the survivor annuity is to be terminated because the survivor dies or because there is some other statutory cause for loss of the survivor annuity, the deceased retired staff member's distributable lump-sum pension payment shall be calculated in accordance with the preceding article. After deducting all monthly pension and survivor annuity already received by the staff member and survivors, if there is any remainder, it shall be distributed among the remaining survivors based on the order of precedence and ratios set out in Article 43.
Article 46
If a person receiving a monthly or partial monthly pension dies before this Act comes into force, his or her survivors, unless under a circumstance in paragraph 5 of the preceding article, shall still have a choice between receiving a lump-sum survivor benefit or survivor annuity under the original provisions from before the enforcement of this Act.
If a person receiving a monthly or partial monthly pension dies within 1 year from the date this Act comes into force, when his or her survivors opt for a survivor annuity, it shall be handled in accordance with Article 14-1 of the former Statute Governing the Retirement of School Faculty and Staff that was in force before the enforcement of this Act, and paragraph 4 of the preceding article shall not apply.
Article 47
If a staff member receiving a monthly or partial monthly pension dies and any of the following circumstances exists, the former employing school may proceed to take three base units of lump-sum survivor benefit, and handle his or her funeral affairs:
1. The staff member has no survivors lawfully eligible to receive lump-sum survivor benefits.
2. The staff member has no survivors in the Taiwan area, and his or her survivors residing in the Mainland Area have not tended to the handling of the funeral affairs.
3. The staff member has are no survivors in the Taiwan area, and it is unknown whether there are survivors in the Mainland Area.
If any residual amount remains from the lump-sum survivor benefit used to handle the funeral affairs of the deceased retired staff member under the preceding paragraph, it will go to the Public Treasury and the Pension Fund, respectively, at a ratio calculated based on the deceased's approved years of service before and after the implementation of the New Pension System.
A Mainland Area survivor of a staff member falling under subparagraph 2 or 3 of paragraph 1, who is eligible to claim a lump-sum survivor benefit, may, within the effective period for rights of claim under public law as set out in the Administrative Procedure Act, claim the 3 base units of lump-sum survivor benefit not taken by the employing school and the residual amount of lump-sum survivor benefit under the preceding paragraph.
Article 48
If the retired staff member made a will before death, and designated a recipient or recipients of the lump-sum survivor benefit or survivor annuity from among the survivors set out in Article 43, paragraph 1, the staff member's will shall prevail. However, the proportion to be received by any minor child of the retired staff member may not be lower than the proportion that child would originally have been entitled to receive.
If the retired staff member did not make a will before death and the survivors at the same order of precedence are unable to come to agreement and make a uniform choice for either the lump-sum survivor benefit or the survivor annuity, the survivors may each make their own respective choice, and the proceeds shall be distributed in the proportion determined in accordance with Article 43, paragraph 1.
Article 49
If a retired staff member who has opted for a deferred monthly pension pursuant to Article 31, paragraph 3 or Article 32, paragraph 4, subparagraph 2 or 4 dies before reaching the starting age for payment of the monthly pension, his or her survivors may, according to their eligibility, claim a lump-sum survivor benefit or survivor annuity pursuant to Article 43 or 45.
Article 50
If a staff member who, after the implementation of the New Pension System and prior to the enforcement of this Act, has been approved for and receives a a monthly or partial monthly pension, dies after this Act comes into force, his or her survivors shall claim a lump-sum survivor benefit or survivor annuity pursuant to Articles 43 to 45.
If a staff member who, before the implementation of the New Pension System, has been approved and receives a a monthly or partial monthly pension, dies after this Act comes into force, lump-sum survivor benefits received by his or her survivors shall be paid in accordance with the provisions and standards that were originally in force before the implementation of the New Pension System.
If a survivor under the preceding paragraph meets the requirements of Article 45, the survivor may choose to receive a survivor annuity instead.