It seems Canada isn’t the only country struggling to get its public sector pension arrangements in line with the private sector.
A senior Taiwanese official says that pension payments for retired civil servants are pushing the government toward a “fiscal cliff.”
Guan Chung said in a report yesterday that about one-third ($10 billion) of the government’s annual welfare budgets covers the pensions and health insurance of Taiwan’s 620,000 retired teachers, military and civil servants.
Chung oversees the hiring of civil servants. He says the private sector workforce lags far behind the public sector in welfare benefits.
Taiwanese officials can retire as early as 55 if they have worked for 30 years. A reform plan would limit retirement to officials whose age and years of work add up to at least 90.