New National Pension Measure: Old-Age Pension to Be Automatically Issued to Eligible Individuals Without Application

(CNA, Taipei, 19th, by reporter Chen Chieh-ling) A National Pension insured person died just after turning 65, unable to receive the funeral grant, old-age pension, or survivor's pension. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced today that, effective immediately, the Bureau of Labor Insurance will proactively review the eligibility conditions for the old-age pension and automatically issue it to those who qualify. A netizen posted that a relative passed away right after turning 65. Despite having been enrolled in the National Pension insurance for many years, they were unable to claim any of the three benefits: the National Pension old-age pension, funeral grant, and survivor's pension. This sparked public doubt about the adequacy of the National Pension's protection, with some even calling it a "scam." Chang Yu-hsuan, Director of the MOHW's Department of Social Insurance, explained again in a media interview today regarding the online discussion of this 65-year-old case. She pointed out three benefits to note. First, the funeral grant, like other social insurances, is only paid upon the death of an insured person; those over 65 are no longer considered insured. Second, Chang said, is the survivor's pension. The National Pension system does have a survivor's pension, which can be claimed by disadvantaged family members in order of priority, but it cannot be claimed if there are no eligible disadvantaged survivors. As for the third point, the old-age pension, the eligibility conditions are met if there are no outstanding premium payments, but the National Pension requires an application, and the individual in this case passed away before applying. Chang stated, "For the insured, as long as they have paid their National Pension premiums on time and have reached the age of 65, they theoretically already meet the eligibility conditions for the National Pension old-age pension. We believe whether an application is submitted should not be the most important, nor necessarily an essential, condition." Chang mentioned that the eligibility conditions for the old-age pension are relatively simple and clear, and it is mainly intended to take care of people who have not fallen behind on their National Pension premiums. Therefore, the government should be able to adopt a more proactive screening method to assist with the process. When asked by the media if this was an isolated incident, Chang admitted that this case was indeed quite unique because the individual did not meet the conditions for other benefits, and had not even applied for the most basic old-age pension payment before passing away. According to the Bureau of Labor Insurance's past procedures, an application from the public was required before subsequent administrative and data processing could proceed; this was the established practice. Therefore, the MOHW believes there is room for interpretation here. She stated that since the individual had completed their premium payments, they had fundamentally met the eligibility requirements for the National Pension old-age pension. Thus, the act of "submitting an application" should not necessarily be seen as an absolutely essential condition. She believes the insurer should be more proactive and diligent in disbursing payments, which would also improve public perception. Regarding external concerns that this incident might affect public trust in the National Pension system, or even reduce it...