Taiwan Considers Extending Retirement Age from 65... Establishing Legal Grounds

Taiwan, facing a decline in labor force due to low birth rates, has established a legal basis to extend the current retirement age of 65.

According to Taiwan media such as China Times on the 16th, Taiwan's Legislative Yuan (National Assembly) passed amendments to certain provisions of the Labor Standards Act and the Employment Promotion Act for Middle-aged and Older Adults the day before, partially revising laws related to retirement extension. The amendments include extending retirement for workers aged 65 and older through labor-management negotiations and support for reemployment of middle-aged and older adults.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

A legislator stated, "The focus was on enabling healthy workers aged 65 and older who are willing to work to continue contributing to their workplaces," adding, "Regarding the Employment Promotion Act for Middle-aged and Older Adults, the central and local governments are required to establish related plans such as job design and workplace environment improvements for middle-aged and older adults at least every three years."

Taiwan's Ministry of Labor announced that under this revision, workers above the retirement age must not be subjected to wage cuts or deteriorated working conditions. Violations will result in the public disclosure of the responsible company official's name and a fine of up to 1.5 million New Taiwan dollars (approximately 64 million KRW).

Meanwhile, Taiwan is facing a social issue of labor force decline due to rapid aging, with more than half of the total population expected to be aged 50 or older by around 2034.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.