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Chapter I General Principles
Section 1 General Provisions
Article 1
The retirement, severance, and bereavement compensation of public school staff members shall be handled in accordance with this Act.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Act, the competent authority is the Ministry of Education at the central government level; the municipal government at the special municipality level; and the county government(or county-level city government)at the county or(county-level city)level respectively.
Article 3
In this Act, the term "public school"(hereinafter, "school")means a school at any level that has been duly established by the competent authority.
In this Act, the term "school staff member" means any of the following personnel(hereinafter, "staff member"):
1. Principals, teachers, researchers, professional technicians, teachers of professional or technical subjects, technical personnel with rare specialties, full-time coaches, and teaching assistants hired after 21 March 1997(hereinafter, "new-scheme teaching assistants"), who were employed by a school through hiring, appointment, or selection in accordance with statutory qualifying requirements.
2. Non-teaching staff who were employed before the enforcement of the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators and did not need to apply for a change of rank and contract as civil servant or technician, whose job titles are included in the staff complement of the school, or subsidiary institution thereof, in which they serve, and who have been approved and registered by the competent authority.
Unless otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions herein regarding retirement, severance, or bereavement compensation for staff members referred to in the preceding paragraph apply only to qualified, paid, full-time staff members whose current positions are included in the staff complement of the school.
Article 4
The following terms used in this Act are defined as set out below:
1. New Pension System: means the educational personnel pension and benefit system implemented from 1 February 1996. Under this system, government and educational personnel jointly make contributions to the Public Service Pension Fund(hereinafter, the "Pension Fund")joint deposit scheme.
2. Base salary(or seniority salary): means the salary amount converted, in accordance with the Executive Yuan directions for conversion of salary points(or amount), from the salary points(or amount)assigned to a staff member in accordance with applicable laws and regulations governing salary.
3. Lump-sum salary-and-allowance relief payment: means the sum total of the following payments paid to a staff member in the month of retirement or severance:
(1)Base salary(or seniority salary).
(2)Academic research allowances or professional allowances.
(3)Supervisory position allowances.
4. Retirement income replacement rate(hereinafter, "replacement rate"): means the ratio of the monthly retirement income received by a staff member after retirement to the amount that is twice the monthly base salary(or seniority salary)received by personnel of the same rank in active service in the last month of the staff member's employment. However, in the case of a staff member receiving part of the pension on a monthly basis("partial monthly basis"), the replacement rate ceiling shall be adjusted according to the proportion of the partial monthly pension.
5. "Monthly retirement income" is defined as follows, according to the type of pension payment received by a staff member:
(1)For a staff member receiving pension on a monthly basis, it means the sum total of the amounts received monthly in pension(including any monthly compensation), plus preferential deposit interest on the Civil Servant and School Staff Insurance lump-sum old-age payment, or any insurance annuity received for participation in any social insurance program through a government agency, public school, or government-owned enterprise.
(2)For a staff member receiving pension on a partial monthly basis, it means the sum total of the amounts received monthly in pension(including any monthly compensation), plus preferential deposit interest on the lump-sum pension payment and on Civil Servant and School Staff Insurance lump-sum old-age payment, or any social insurance annuity.
(3)For a staff member receiving pension on a lump-sum basis, it means the sum total of the amounts received monthly in preferential deposit interest on the lump-sum pension payment, plus preferential deposit interest on the Civil Servant and School Staff Insurance lump-sum old-age payment, or any social insurance annuity.
6. Minimum guaranteed amount: the sum total of the highest base salary of a grade 1 civil servant plus the professional allowance of an ordinary grade 1 civil servant.
7. Pension or separation pay: any corresponding payment such as a pension payment, severance payment, settlement payment for years of service, or separation payment, that is made upon retirement or severance from, or settlement of years of service in, any civil-service, government-enterprise, or military position in accordance with the Statute of Privatization of Government-Owned Enterprises or other provisions governing retirement from civil-service, government-enterprise, or military positions.
Article 5
Payments that may be claimed by a staff member or his or her survivors under this Act are variously categorized as pension, severance pay, Pension Fund premium principal and interest, bereavement compensation, lump-sum survivor benefit, or survivor annuity(hereinafter, collectively, "pension and benefit payments").
Section 2 Provision, Reserve, and Management of Pension and Benefit Payments
Article 6
For those pension and benefit payments under the preceding paragraph that are calculated based on years of service before the implementation of the New Pension System, each competent authority shall prepare a budget to pay the payments. For those that are calculated based on years of service after the implementation of the New Pension System years of service, the payments shall be paid out of the Pension Fund.
Article 7
Any years of service during which a principal or teacher was formerly employed as a paid, full-time, qualified principal or teacher within the staff complement of a private school, for which no pension, separation pay, or severance pay has yet been approved and paid and for which written verification has been provided by his or her former employing school, may be included in the person's years of service, and his or her pension, bereavement compensation, or severance pay shall be calculated and paid in accordance with the following provisions:
1. For years of service at a private school before(and including)31 December 2009, the content of the base unit, and maximum countable base units, for the person's pension, bereavement compensation, or severance pay shall be handled in accordance with the provisions governing private school staff member pension, bereavement compensation, and severance pay that originally were in force before the enforcement of the Act Governing the Retirement, Bereavement Compensation, and Discharge with Severance Pay Benefits for the Teaching and Other Staff of School Legal Persons and their Respective Private School(s)(hereinafter, the "Private School Retirement and Compensation Act"), and the payments shall be made by the Management Committee Managing Retirement, Compensation, Resignation, and Severance Fund Matters for Private School Teachers and Staff of the ROC(hereinafter, the "Fund Management Committee")out of the original Retirement, Bereavement Compensation, Resignation, and Severance Fund for Private School Teaching and Other Staff Members.
2. For years of service at a private school after(and including)1 January 2010, the Fund Management Committee, in accordance with the Private School Retirement and Compensation Act, shall pay the accumulated principal and interest out of the Retirement and Compensation Fund into the person's individual Retirement and Compensation Fund Account.
Article 8
A staff member and the government shall jointly make monthly contributions of the Pension Fund premium to create the Pension Fund referred to in Article 6, and the government shall be responsible for guaranteeing ultimate payment.
The monthly Pension Fund premium under the preceding paragraph shall be contributed at a rate of from 12 percent to 18 percent of twice the staff member's base salary(or seniority salary), of which the government shall contribute 65 percent and the staff member shall contribute 35 percent.
If a staff member, while duly taking unpaid leave, is seconded to serve at another school, and fills an employment vacancy in that school and is duly paid salary, then during the unpaid leave period the Pension Fund premium contributions shall be handled by the school to which the staff member has been seconded, in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, based on the person's salary grade.
For a staff member's years of service after the enforcement of this paragraph in which the person duly takes unpaid leave for childcare purposes, the staff member may choose to bear the full premium burden and continue to pay the Pension Fund premium.
The Pension Fund premium paid by a staff member under this Act shall be excluded in the computation of annual taxable salary income.
Article 9
The actual contribution rate of the Pension Fund premium under paragraph 2 of the preceding article shall be set and announced by the Executive Yuan jointly with the Examination Yuan based on the results of periodic financial and actuarial calculations for the Pension Fund.
If and when, according to the financial and actuarial results under the preceding paragraph, the optimal contribution rate with respect to unamortized liability due to past failure to contribute premium reaches 1.5 times or more the current actual contribution rate, the Executive Yuan, jointly with the Examination Yuan, shall within 3 months raise the contribution rate by at least 1 percent, but the raised contribution rate may not exceed the contribution rate ceiling specified in paragraph 2 of the preceding article.
For the periodic financial and actuarial calculations for the Pension Fund under paragraph 1, the authority charged with managing the Pension Fund shall, with respect to the receipts and expenditures, management, and utilization of the Pension Fund, make actuarial calculations at least once every 3 years, and in each instance the actuarial calculations shall cover at least 50 years.
Article 10
When a staff member claims pension, severance, or bereavement compensation, if there are any years of service for which the staff member paid Pension Fund premium in accordance with this Act but which are not aggregated into the creditable years for which he or she is paid pension, severance pay, or bereavement compensation, the Pension Fund management institution, after calculating the ratio of the uncredited years of service to the years of service for which premium was paid, shall return to the staff member in one lump sum the principal, with interest, of the Pension Fund premium originally contributed by the staff member himself or herself corresponding to the uncredited service period.
A staff member who resigns without meeting the conditions for pension or severance may apply for return in one lump sum of the principal, with interest, of the Pension Fund premium originally contributed by the staff member himself or herself.
If, after a staff member dies, there exists any circumstance precluding the payment of bereavement compensation as set out in the proviso to paragraph 2 of Article 52, his or her survivors under Article 62 may apply for return in one lump sum of the principal, with interest, of the Pension Fund pemium originally contributed by the staff member himself or herself.
The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs regarding return of the principal, with interest, of the Pension Fund premium shall not apply to years of service for which a staff member contributed Pension Fund premium under this Act if the staff member has or had already received received pension or other separation pay for those years.
Article 11
The utilization and management of the Pension Fund shall be entrusted to an entity dedicated to that purpose, which shall conduct professional investment, and shall make quarterly publicly disclosures of information relating to the receipts, expenditures, and utilization of the Fund
Unless otherwise provided for in this Act, matters related to the receipts, expenditures, management, and utilization of the Pension Fund under this Act and the organization of the dedicated entity under the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by statutory law.
Section 3 Calculation of Years of Service Creditable Toward Pension and Benefits and Related Matters
Article 12
When a staff member claims pension, severance, or bereavement compensation under this Act, the following years of service of the staff member shall be aggregated into the creditable years of service:
1. Years of approved and on-record service at a public school at any level in a substitute position for a staff member who is away performing military service.
2. Years of service of eligible teachers hired under the Pilot Program Directions for Non-Funded Preschools Affiliated with Elementary Schools of the Taiwan Provincial Government, before they were included in the staff complement.
3. Years of service of eligible teachers hired by independent kindergartens, or kindergartens attached to elementary schools, that were established during the period from 1985 to 1989 by county or county-level city givernments on their own intiative or under a program of the former Taiwan Provincial Board of Education, before they were included in the staff complement.
4. Years of service at a school during the period of appeal, administrative appeal, or administrative litigation in the case of a teacher who was provisionally removed from employment, removed from employment, or denied renewed employment and who duly brought an appeal, administrative appeal, or administrative litigation, and who received a final and conclusive appeal decision, administrative appeal decision, or administrative litigation judgment to restore the employment relationship.
When a staff member claims pension, severance, or bereavement compensation under this Act, the following years of service of the staff member dating from before the implementation of the New Pension System, and for which the staff member has never received pension or other separation pay, are creditable years of service:
1. Years of service during which the staff member served as a paid, full-time staff member within the staff complement of a public school and meeting the requirements of the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators and related laws and regulations, and for which written verification has been provided by the former employing school.
2. Years of service in a paid, full-time position within a staff complement as a duly graded and assigned civil servant in compliance with the Civil Servant Appointment Act and its relevant laws and regulations.
3. Years of service in a paid, full-time military civilian position within a staff complement, as registered and on record with the Ministry of Civil Service, or for which written verification has been provided by the Ministry of National Defense or other authorized agency.
4. Years of voluntary military service, for which written verification has been provided by the Ministry of National Defense or other authorized agency.
5. Years of service of police personnel within a staff complement who were hired or commissioned or the equivalent and paid at the same level as a police officer of a junior rank, and for which written verification has been provided by the former employing agency.
6. Years of service in a paid, full-time position within the staff complement of a government-owned enterprise in the capacity of a civil servant, for which written verification has been provided by the former employing agency.
7. Years of service as a full-time staff member in an overseas Chinese school accredited by the ROC government, for which written verification has been provided by the former employing school, and the written verification has been certified and stamped with the seal of an authorized agency.
8. Other years of service that the central competent authority has approved as creditable in aggregate.
In the case of a staff member who retires, is severed, or dies on or after 5 June 1998, before the implementation of the New Pension System, any past years of compulory military service, for which the staff member had not been credited and paid pension or other separation pay, are creditable years of service for pension, severance, or bereavement compensation.
No years of service by a staff member in any full-time(or part-time)substitute teacher position on or after 1 January 2008 are creditable toward pension, severance, or bereavement compensation.
Article 13
When a staff member claims pension, severance, or bereavement compensation under this act, the calculation of creditable years of service in employment after the implementation of the New Pension System shall be done as follows:
1. It shall be calculated based on the actual number of days for which Pension Fund premium has duly been contributed.
2. No years of service for which the Pension Fund premium principal and interest have been returned, or for which pension or other separation pay has been paid out of a government budget or out of the Pension Fund are creditable service years.
3. When a person is transferred to a staff member position at a public school, for any years of previous service by the person after the implementation of the New Pension System in a position as a political appointee, civil servant, or military personnel, for which Pension Fund premium was contributed, the Pension Fund management institution shall transfer to the staff member's Pension Fund account the Pension Fund premium principal, with interest, that the staff member and the government jointly contributed and for which no benefit has been received, and calculate the years of service in aggregate.
4. In the case of a person transferred to a staff member position at a public school who previously served, after the implementation of the New Pension System, as a political appointee, civil servant, or military personnel, for any years of compulsory military service served by the person after the implementation of the New Pension System, the Pension Fund premium principal, with interest, shall be contributed in a make-up payment in accordance with the laws and regulations governing civil-service, government-enterprise, or military pensions, as the case may be, that were applicable to the staff member before the transfer, and the years of service are creditable only after the account transfer under subparagraph 3 has been carried out.
5. Any years of compulsory military service after the implementation of the New Pension System, for which a staff member has not been credited and paid pension or other separation pay, are creditable years of service only if, within 10 years from the date the staff member first takes the position and comes on board and is paid salary or from the date the person resumes the position and is paid salary, the employing school and the staff member jointly assume responsibility and pay a make-up payment, in one lump sum, of the Pension Fund principal and interest, based on the staff member's assigned salary grade, at the rate in accordance with Article 8, paragraph 2.
6. For any years of service, creditable under any other law or regulations, during which a staff member has previously, after the implementation of the New Pension System, served in another public service position or years of service at a public school in a substitute position for a staff member who is away performing military service as referred to in subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of the preceding article, an application may be filed through the employing school with the Pension Fund management institution, within 10 years from the date the staff member is transferred and comes on board and is paid salary, to pay a make-up the payment of the Pension Fund premium principal with interest. To determine the amount of Pension Fund premium principal and interest payable by the person, the Pension Fund management institution will calculate a sum total final value plus compound interest according to the person's years of service and rank, and based on the premium payment standards for staff members at the same salary grade during the same period. Only after the person applying to make up the premium has paid the full amount in one lump sum will such years of service become creditable.
7. For any years of service during which a staff member, after the implementation of the New Pension System, has previously served as a full-time staff member of a whole-day overseas Chinese school accredited or granted recordation by the ROC government, for which pension or severance has not been paid, and for which written verification has been provided by the former employing school, and the written verification has been certified and stamped with the seal of an authorized agency, an application may be filed through the employing school with the Pension Fund management institution, within 10 years from the date the staff member is transferred and comes on board and is paid salary, to pay a make-up payment of the Pension Fund premium principal with interest. The interest shall be calculated as set out in the preceding subparagraph.
8. For a teacher who, with the approval of the school in accordance with the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators or other relevant laws and regulations that were in force prior to the amendment and enforcement of that Act, the Teachers Act, or other relevant laws, is seconded, on unpaid leave, to a governmen-owned or private enterprise, private school, foundation, administrative juristic person, or institution or non-governmental organization established or designated by the Executive Yuan to handle affairs relating to interaction between the people of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, the years of service for such period of unpaid leave will be creditable only if, within 10 years from the date the teacher returns to service in a position as teacher or principal and is paid salary, the Pension Fund premium principal and interest payment is made up as set out in subparagrpah 6.
9. For years of service during which a staff member took unpaid leave under Article 4, paragraph 1, subparagraph 5 of the Regulations Governing Unpaid Leave for Educators, and for which no pension or other separation pay has been paid, those service years will be creditable only if, within 10 years from the date the staff member returns to service in a position as teacher or principal and is paid salary, the Pension Fund premium principal and interest payment is made up as set out in subparagrpah 6.
For a person who claims pension in accordance with Article 20, paragraph 2, if the years of service from the time of secondment on unpaid leave up to the day before the person reaches age 65 meet the requirements set out in paragraph 1, subparagraphs 6 to 9 regarding make-up payment of the Pension Fund premium, then, within 10 years from the day the person reaches age 65, an application to make up payment of the Pension Fund premium principal and interest may be filed with the Pension Fund management institution by the school that employed the person before the secondment. Only after the payment has been made will the years of service be creditable.
When a staff member who has duly been provisionally removed from employment or placed on administrative suspension subsequently is reinstated to his or her employment or duties and is duly issued make-up payment of the base salary(or seniority salary)that was not issued during the period of provisional removal or administrative suspension, the employing school and the staff member shall jointly assume responsibility and, based on the contribution rate set out in Article 8, paragraph 2, pay a make-up payment, in one lump sum, of the Pension Fund principal and interest, for the period during which the employee was provisionally removed or placed on administrative suspension, whereupon that period will be creditable.
Article 14
When a staff member applies to make a make-up payment of Pension Fund premium principal and interest under subparagraphs 5 to 9 of paragraph 1, or under paragraph 3, of the preceding article, if the application is not made within 3 months counting from the date the staff member is initially hired or is transferred and comes on board and is paid salary or the date the staff member is reinstated to duties and has his or her salary restored, additional interest shall accrue.
When a staff member applies to make a make-up payment of Pension Fund premium principal and interest under paragraph 2 of the preceding article, if the application is not made within 3 months counting from the date the seconded staff member reaches age 65, additional interest shall accrue.
The calculation of the periods for make-up payments of Pension Fund premium principal and interest under the preceding article and the preceding two paragraphs, shall not be interrupted because a staff member resigns(or is dismissed)from his or her duties.
The Pension Fund management institution shall separately adopt regulations governing the standards, time limits, application procedures, and other matters relating to the payment(and make-up payment)of Pension Fund premium principal and interest of staff members.
Article 15
If a staff member whose retirement takes effect before the enforcement of this Act has years of service both before and after the implementation of the New Pension System, the years from before and after shall be creditable in aggregate. Of the years of service that were before the implementation of the New Pension System, 30 years are creditable at maximum. The years of service after the implementation of the New Pension System are creditable in aggregate therewith. At maximum, 35 years are creditable.
If a teacher or principal whose retirement takes effect before the enforcement of this Act has served for a full 35 years, and has served 30 years in a position as teacher or principal, and at the time of claiming pension, has served as teacher or principal for the last 5 consecutive years or more with distinction, the teacher or principle may enjoy 40 years creditable at maximum from the years of service before the implementation of the New Pension System or from the years of service counted in aggregate from before and after the implementation of the New Pension System.
For a staff member whose retirement takes effect after the enforcement of this Act, the number of creditable years of the person's service from before the implementation of the New Pension System remains 30 years at maximum, and years of service thereafter may be credited additionally thereto. For those who opt to receive a monthly pension, 40 years are creditable at maximum. For those who opt to receive a lump-sum pension payment, 42 years are creditable at maximum. If the years of service calculated in aggregate exceed the ceiling on creditable years of service set out in this paragraph, the retiring party may decide at his or her own discretion which years of service before and after the implementation of the New Pension System will be credited within that ceiling.
When a staff member is unwilling to make the decision under the preceding paragraph about which years of service will be credited, the competent authority that is reviewing the retirement application will proceed to make the decision at its sole discretion.
Article 16
When a staff member who previously has duly received pension or other separation pay out of a government budget or out of the Pension Fund or to whom Pension Fund premium principal and interest has been returned is subsequently reemployed as a staff member, the staff member may not repay any pension or other separation pay or Pension Fund premium principal and interest that the staff member has already received. When the staff member re-retires or is re-severanced, or has bereavement compensation paid, no further pension and benefit payments may be made for those years of service for which such payments have already been received.
Years of service listed below for which a staff member, as described in the preceding paragraph, has received pension or other separation pay out of a government budget or out of the Pension Fund or has received a refund of government-contributed Pension Fund premium or separation pay principal and interest shall be calculated in aggregate with years of service calculated for re-retirement or re-severance under this Act; the sum total years of service may not exceed the ceiling on creditable years of service set out in the preceding artice, and may not exceed the payment ceilings set out in Articles 29 and 30:
1. Years of service as as a staff member.
2. Years of service as as a civil servant.
3. Years of service as as a political appointee.
4. Years of service as as a government-owned enterprise employee.
5. Years of service as as a democratically elected senior official.
6. Years of service in a military personnel or other public service personnel position transferred into after the implementation of the New Pension System.
When a staff member re-retires or is re-severanced as referred to in paragraph 2, the payments for the years of service during the reemployment period shall be handled as follows:
1. Any years of service before the implementation of the New Pension System for which pension or other separation pay has not been received shall be calculated in continuity with the last years of service before the implementation of the New Pension System for which a pension or other separation payment was made out of a government budget, and payment shall be made in accordance with the pension category and calculation standards applicable to those years of continued service. The same method shall also apply to calculation of severance pay for such years.
2. If a person has a full 15 years or longer of service in reemployment, the person may choose which one of the types of pension set out in Article 27, paragraph 1 to receive, and the pension payment will be calculated based on his or her approved years of service at retiremeent. However, when a staff member opts to receive a monthly or partial monthly pension, the provisions of Articles 31 and 32, respectively, regarding the starting age for payment of monthly pensions shall be followed.