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Chapter II Retirement
Section 1 Types and Conditions of Retirement
Article 17
Retirement of staff members is divided into the categories of voluntary retirement, age-mandated retirement, and compulsory retirement.
Article 18
In any of the following circumstances, voluntary retirement by a staff member shall be approved:
1. Has been employed for 5 years, and is aged 60 or over.
2. Has been employed for 25 years.
In any of the following circumstances, voluntary retirement shall be approved for a staff member who has been employed for 15 years:
1. The staff member is issued a certificate by a hospital assessed as qualified by the central competent health authority(hereinafter, "qualified hospital")stating that he or she meets the standard of "semi-incapacitated" or a more severe disability under the Civil Servant and School Staff Insurance Disability Benefit Standards, or is assessed to have a mental or physical disability ranking of "severe" or greater under the ranking system set by the central competent health authority.
2. Suffers from a terminal-stage malignant tumor or is a terminal illness patient as defined in Article 3, subparagraph 2 of the Hospice Palliative Care Act, and submits a certificate issued by a qualified hospital.
3. Holds a certificate issued by an authorized agency certifying a permanent serious illness or injury under the National Health Insurance system, and has been determined by the employing school to be incapable of performing the duties of his or her work, and also incapable of performing other equivalent work.
4. Qualifies as having a statutory physical or mental disability, and has been issued a certificate of permanent incapacity for work issued through the mechanism for specialist evaluation of individual work capacity under Article 54-1 of the Labor Insurance Act.
The age limit of "aged 60 or over" in paragraph 1, subparagraph 1 may be reduced by the central competent authority at its discretion with respect to work duties that have restrictive physical requirements, but may not be lower than 55 years.
The age limit of "aged 60 or over" for voluntary retirement in paragraph 1, subparagraph 1 is lowered to "aged 55" for people who have identity status as indigenous peoples. However, after the enforcement of this Act, in tandem with decreases in the gap between the average life expectancy of indigenous peoples and the national average life expectancy, the voluntary retirement age for indigenous peoples will gradually be raised until it reaches 60, and shall be examined for this purpose once every 5 years by the central competent authority and reported to the Executive Yuan for approval.
The determination of identity of indigenous peoples under the preceding paragraph will be based on the household registration data of the individual.
Article 19
When the employing school duly carries out staff downsizing because of the school's closure, merger, or restructuring, voluntary retirement shall be approved for a staff member who meets any of the following circumstances:
1. Has been employed for 20 years or longer.
2. Has been employed for 10 years or longer but less than 20 years, and is aged 55 or older.
3. Has been at the highest seniority salary level in his or her position for 3 years or longer, and is aged 55 or older.
Article 20
A staff member who has been employed for 5 years or longer, and is aged 65 or older shall be subject to age-mandated retirement.
When a teacher is duly seconded and takes unpaid leave, unless seconded to a duly graded and assigned civil servant position, if the techer fulfills the conditions under the preceding paragraph during the unpaid leave period, and none of the circumstances set out in Article 25, paragraph 1 or Article 75, paragraph 1 exists, the staff member may claim pension within 10 years from the time the teacher reaches the age of 65.
Under any of the following circumstances, a staff member who has reached the age specified in paragraph 1 may extend his or her service, without being subject to the age-mandated retirement requirement under paragraph 1:
1. A principal of a school at the level of junior college or higher may continue to serve in the position until the term of his or her appointment ends; the person may also continue to serve if re-appointed after that term of appointment. However, no extension of an appointment is permitted once a person reaches the age of 70.
2. A professor or associate professor of a school at the level of junior college or higher may continue to serve in that position based on teaching needs and subject to the person's agreement to continue his or her service. Such extensions may continue, at the longest, only until the academic semester in which the person reaches the age of 70.
If a principal of a school at the level of junior college or higher who continues to serve until the term of his appointment ends pursuant to subparagraph 1 above and then returns to his original position as professor or associate professor at the original employing school in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, he or she may subsequently extend his or her service in accordance with subparagraph 2 of the preceding paragraph.
The central competent authority shall adopt regulations governing the conditions, time limits, review and approval procedures, and other matters relating to extensions of service under the preceding two paragraphs.
Article 21
When a principal, teacher, professional technician, teacher of a professional or technical subject, or full-time coach takes voluntary retirement under Article 18, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1 or 2 or Article 19, unless there is some exceptional reason to retire on some other date, the standard effective date for such retirement will be 1 February or 1 August.
When a principal, teacher, professional technician, teacher of a professional or technical subject, or full-time coach becomes subject to age-mandated retirement under paragraph 1, the effective date of retirement shall be as follow:
1. If the person's birth date falls during the period from 1 August to 31 January of the following year, the effective date of retirement will be no later than 1 February of the following year.
2. If the person's birth date falls during the period from 1 February to 31 July, the effective date of retirement will be no later than 1 August.
When a researcher, new-scheme teaching assistant, staff member, or technical personnel with a rare specialty becomes subject to age-mandated retirement under paragraph 1, the effective date for retirement shall be as follows:
1. If the person's birth date falls during the period from January to June, the effective date of retirement shall be 16 July.
2. If the person's birth date falls during the period from July to December, the effective date of retirement shall be 16 January of the following year.
The standards for determining exceptional causes set out in paragraph 1 shall be adopted bythe central competent authority.
Article 22
If a staff member has been employed for 5 years and any of the following circumstances applies, the staff member's employing school shall take the initiative to carry out compulsory retirement:
1. The staff member does not meet the conditions for voluntary retirement under Article 18, and is under a declaration of guardianship or assistance which has not yet been lifted.
2. The staff member has one of the following physical or mental illnesses, injuries, or disabilities, and the employing school issues a certificate that he or she is incapable of performing the duties of his or her work, and also incapable of performing other equivalent work:
(1)Submits a certificate issued by a qualified hospital stating that he or she meets the standard of "semi-incapacitated" or a more severe disability under the Civil Servant and School Staff Insurance Disability Benefit Standards, and has already duly received disability payment, or a certificate stating that he or she is assessed to have a mental or physical disability ranking of "severe" or greater under the ranking system set by the central competent health authority.
(2)Suffers a stage 3 or later malignant tumor, and submits a certificate from a qualified hospital.
Before the employing school takes the initiative to carry out compulsory retirement for a staff member pursuant to subparagraph 2, item 1 of the preceding paragraph, it shall provide vocational rehabilitation services for the staff member pursuant to Article 33 of the Act for the Protection of Rights of People with Disabilities.
Article 23
If the declaration of guardianship or assistance or physical or mental illness, injury, or disability of a staff member under subparagraph 1 or 2 of paragraph 1 of the preceding article results from a cause in the course of the staff member's performance of his or her official duties(hereinafter, "occupational injury or illness"), the staff member's compulsory retirement will not be subject to the requirement of having been employed for 5 years of service.
The term "occupational injury or illness" in the preceding paragraph means that the employing school certifies, and the competent authority reviews and determines, that a staff member's physical or mental illness, injury, or disability has a substantial causal relationship with one of the following causes:
1. The occurrence of an accidental hazard or an event of violence, or falling prey to an illness, during the performance of duties, resulting in injury or illness.
2. The occurrence of an accidental hazard in the workplace, while away on official business, or while traveling to or from the workplace or place of the official business, resulting in injury or illness. However, this shall not apply to an injury or illness resulting from a serious traffic violation by the staff member himself or herself.
3. Sudden onset of illness during the performance of duties, in the workplace, or while traveling to or from the workplace or place of official business, resulting in injury or illness.
4. Unyielding diligence or overwork, resulting in injury or illness.
When any doubt arises regarding the determination of an occupational injury or illness under the preceding subparagraphs and of the causal relationship in respect thereto, the competent authority shall select scholars and experts to compose a Committee for the Review of Cases in Which There is Doubt Concerning Compulsory Retirement Due to Occupational Causes and Bereavement Compensation Due to Occupational Causes to carry out review.
When reviewing individual cases with respect to the elements of sudden onset of illness, or unyielding diligence or overwork, resulting in illness or injury, under subparagraphs 3 and 4 of paragraph 2, the review committee under the preceding paragraph may refer to the Reference Criteria for the Review of Civil Servants Suffering Sudden Onset of Illness Due to Occupational Causes or Death Resulting From Unyielding Diligence or Overwork.
Article 24
If a circumstance in any of the following subparagraphs applies to a teacher, researcher, professional technician, teacher of a professional or technical subject, full-time coach, or new-scheme teaching assistant, the employing school, after reporting to the competent authority for approval, shall carry out severance of the person:
1. Because of adjustments to departments, graduate intstitutes, subjects, divisions, or curricula, or because the school is reducing the number of courses, suspending operations, merging, or restructuring, there is no longer work for the person in their current position and there is no other suitable work to which the person can be transferred.
2. The person is incompetent for the work in their current position, as supported by specific facts, and there is no other suitable work to which the person can be transferred, and this has been reviewed and verified by the school's teaching staff evaluation committee or coaching staff evaluation committee.
3. The person is under a declaration of guardianship or assistance which has not been lifted.
A principal to whom any of the circumstances in the preceding paragraph applies will be severanced by the competent authority.
Severance of staff and technical personnel with rare specialties will be handled in accordance with provisions governing severance matters and procedures for civil servants.
Article 25
If a staff member applies for retirement or severance in any of the following circumstances, the school or the competent authority shall decline to process the application:
1. During a period of unpaid leave. However, this restriction shall not apply if the provisions of Article 20, paragraph 2 are satisfied.
2. During a period of administrative suspension or provisional removal from employment.
3. During a period of disciplinary suspension.
4. During a period while the school or the competent authority duly is processing or has processed his or her provisional removal from employment, removal from employment, or denial of renewed employment.
5. The staff member is suspected of having committed a criminal offense against the internal or external security of the State after the end of the Period of National Mobilization in Suppression of Communist Rebellion, and any of the following circumstances applies:
(1)A final and conclusive judgment has not yet been rendered regarding the alleged offense.
(2)The public prosecutor has rendered a disposition of non-indictment or deferred indictment regarding the alleged offense, but the disposition has not yet become final and conclusive.
(3)The public prosecutor has rendered a disposition of deferred indictment regarding the alleged offense, and the disposition has become final and conclusive, but the deferral period has not yet expired.
6. The staff member is tried for having committed a criminal offense under the Anti-Corruption Act or under the Offenses of Malfeasance in Office chapter of the ROC Criminal Code, and sentenced to a punishment of fixed-term imprisonment or a more severe punishment, but the sentence has not yet become final and conclusive.
7. A case involving the staff member has duly been referred by a responsible authority for disciplinary measures or referred to the Control Yuan for review, or a judgment imposing any disciplinary sanction has already been rendered by a responsible authority but has not yet taken effect.
8. Where specially provided by another law.
A staff member under subparagraph 4 to 8 of the preceding paragraph shall, from the last effective date for age-mandated retirement(hereinafter, the mandatory retirement date), provisionally be placed under administrative suspension or provisional removal from employment.
A staff member falling under paragraph 1, subparagraph 2 or falling under the preceding paragraph, from the mandatory retirement date until the date the cause ceases to exist, unless otherwise specially provided by law, may be issued one-half of the base salary(or seniority salary)as in the case of a person under administrative suspension or provisional removal from employment.
Article 26
A staff member who surpasses the mandatory retirement date due to a circumstance under paragraph 1, subparagraphs 2 to 8 of the preceding article, shall, within 6 months after the cause ceases to exist, submit relevant certifying documents in writing to the former employing school to apply for age-mandated retirement.
In all cases of retirement of staff members under the preceding paragraph, the staff member's mandatory retirement date shall be the effective date of retirement. However, the effective date of retirement of a person under a disciplinary suspension shall be the date that the cause has ceased to exist and the authorized agency approves his or her reinstatement to duty.
If a staff member under paragraph 1 dies within the 6-month application deadline, his or her survivors under Article 43 may apply for payment under the standards for lump-sum pension payment. However, if the staff member had already met the conditions of eligibility to opt for a monthly pension, his or her survivors may opt to receive a lump-sum survivor benefit or a survivor annuity pursuant to Articles 43 to 48.
The one-half of base salary(or seniority salary)issued to a staff member under paragraph 1 pursuant to paragraph 3 of the preceding article shall be recovered by the pension paying or disbursing agency by deducting it out of the pension, lump-sum survivor benefit, or survivor annuity paid.
If any of the following circumstances applies to a staff member under paragraph 1, he or she shall remain ineligible to claim pension:
1. He or she is duly dismissed, discharged, removed from employment, or denied renewal of employment.
2. At the expiration of the 6-month deadline for application, there still exists a statutory ground for loss of rights as set out in Article 75.