Military and Civil Servant Pensions Adjusted: Back Payments Arrive, But Li Lai-hsi Vows to Fight for 2024–2025 Deductions

The military and civil servant pension reform (Nian Gai) began in 2017 and officially took effect on July 1, 2018. Key measures included the phased elimination of the 18% preferential deposit scheme and a gradual reduction in public employees’ retirement income replacement rate—from a maximum of 75% down to 60%, decreasing by 1.5 percentage points annually.

However, in late 2025, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed amendments to the Public Service Retirement, Displacement, and Pension Act and the Public School Staff Retirement, Displacement, and Pension Ordinance—legislation critical to halting pension cuts. As a result, the scheduled annual reductions in retirement income replacement rates, which had begun on January 1, 2024, were suspended, and calculations reverted to the 2023 standard.

For the 'pension difference' arising from recalculation between the law’s effective date (December 28, 2025) and July 31, 2026, government agencies are required to make back payments by August 1, 2026.

On July 31, 2026, Li Lai-hsi, former chairman of the National Civil Servants Association, announced on Facebook that the withheld amounts for January to July 2026 had finally been credited to his account. While expressing relief, he emphasized that the matter was far from resolved. The current payment only covers the 2026 over-deductions; the amounts improperly withheld in 2024 and 2025 remain unreturned.

Li stated that the next phase of action will focus on reclaiming those earlier deductions. He revealed that the case has already entered the dispute review process and insisted that the review must include open debate, allowing all parties to present their positions clearly.

Regarding future actions, Li said they will monitor whether retirees’ pensions are adjusted in line with inflation following the projected salary increases for active-duty military and civil servants in the coming year. He stressed that the anti-pension reform movement is a long-term struggle and urged retirees not to back down. 'Retreating and enduring won’t bring justice,' he warned, noting that the DPP and online critics would not ease their attacks on military and civil servants. This successful halt of pension cuts, he argued, is a prime example of what persistent resistance can achieve. 'I call on all partners to stand together!'

Looking back to July 31, 2025, Li confirmed via Facebook that the back payments for the first seven months of 2025 had finally arrived in his old-system pension account. Though only tens of thousands of dollars, he described it as hard-won progress that offered slight relief amid soaring living costs. Yet he questioned why, while minimum wages, labor insurance, and agricultural subsidies are adjusted annually with inflation, military and civil servant pensions continue to shrink. He also pointed out that national tax revenues consistently exceed forecasts and pension funds are performing strongly—yet retirees’ incomes keep declining.