Farmers’ allowance raised to NT$15,000

GIVING BACK: As well as the raise from NT$8,110 to NT$15,000, relaxed eligibility requirements would make more than 7,000 additional people eligible

The legislature yesterday passed amendments raising the monthly allowance for elderly farmers to NT$15,000 (US$458) from NT$8,110 and eased eligibility requirements, with the changes taking effect retroactively from July 1.

Passed in a third reading following a vote, the amendments also introduce a mechanism to review the allowance every two years. If the consumer price index (CPI) rises by 3 percent, the allowance would be adjusted, with the central government covering the additional costs.

The amendments raise the annual non-agricultural income threshold for applicants to NT$600,000 from NT$500,000, and increase the ceiling on the assessed value of their land and housing to NT$10.25 million from NT$5 million.

Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu presides over a session of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times

The changes are expected to make more than 7,000 additional people eligible for the allowance.

The Cabinet approved its own version of the amendments in January, proposing to raise the monthly allowance to NT$10,000.

However, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucuses jointly proposed raising the allowance to NT$15,000, arguing that a larger increase was needed to keep pace with inflation.

The legislature ultimately passed the opposition parties’ version after approving a joint amendment motion submitted by the two caucuses.

KMT caucus secretary-general Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) said that the increase was not a handout, but a way of recognizing farmers’ contributions to Taiwan’s economy.

She said the changes would improve farmers’ retirement security, ease the financial burden on their children, narrow the urban-rural gap and bolster food security.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus deputy chief executive Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) defended the Cabinet’s proposed increase of NT$10,000, saying that it was a more fiscally responsible approach that would also expand eligibility and introduce inflation-based adjustments.

Chen said the allowance represented a long-term government expenditure and that funding sources had to be considered.

She criticized the opposition’s proposal, saying that higher payments could require additional borrowing and divert funding from other public spending.

Raising the monthly allowance to NT$15,000 instead of NT$10,000 would require an additional NT$32 billion in annual spending, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

In a statement yesterday, the Cabinet said the additional cost exceeded the government’s budget capacity and would divert resources from other agricultural programs.

Taiwan introduced its senior farmer allowance program in 1995, providing monthly payments to farmers aged 65 or older who have been enrolled in farmers’ insurance for at least 15 years.

Initially set at NT$3,000, the allowance was raised to NT$7,000 in 2011 and adjusted to NT$8,110 in 2024 following a four-year CPI-based review.