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86 Taiwan Development Perspectives 2009
of Household Administration under the Ministry of the
Interior, the population of senior citizens in Taiwan had
surpassed 1,480,000 as of the end of September 1993.
The senior citizens accounted for 7.1 percent of the
total population, exceeding the 7 percent threshold set
by the World Health Organization for an aging society.
By the end of 2002, Taiwan's elderly population surpassed
two million. One estimate put the number of the
elderly at 2,382,000 or 10.35 percent of the total population
as of the end of 2008. In other words, one out of
every ten people in Taiwan is an elderly citizen. When
the elderly account for 14 percent or more of the total
population, Taiwan will become an aged society.
The old-age dependency ratio has tripled since the
1970s. It was about 5 percent between 1951 and 1971.
In other words, every 20 working people provided for
one elderly citizen. By the end of September 2008, the
ratio had risen to 14.27 percent, which means every
seven working people should support an old person.
Furthermore, according to the Council for Economic
Planning and Development, every 3.3 people in the
working age shall provide for an elderly citizen in 2026,
as postwar baby boomers join the ranks of the aged. By
2051, the ratio is expected to be 1.5 to one. The burden
of the working people to take care of senior citizens is
getting heavier.
2. Decline in Fertility and Rapid Changes in
Family Structure
As a result of industrialization and urbanization,
Taiwan’s traditional extended family system is gradually
crumbling. Most families are core families now.
Besides, the fertility rate is going down. A couple had
3.1 children on an average in 1976. The number
dropped to 1.7 in 1986 and 1.18 in 2004, lower than
1.50 among the developed countries and 3.1 among the
developing countries. Taiwan has one of the lowest
fertility rates in the world. Moreover, the proportion of
working people to retirees is also declining. It means
that the ability of the community as a whole to support
the elderly is on the decline.
At the same time, the ability of a family to transfer
its resources from generation to generation has weakened.
The deterioration of traditional family values is
making the younger generation to shirk the filial obligation
of taking care of the parents. Consequently, the
government or institutions have to take over the responsibility
of providing economic security and nursing
care for the elderly. On the other hand, a Ministry of the
Interior study shows the majority of old people wish to
retire and live with their families. The government
needs to promote traditional family values on the one
hand, and establish a sustainable national pension system
to provide economic security for the elderly on the
other. In addition, the government should plan to set a
suitable long-term care system and nursing services in
place as soon as possible to meet the health needs of the
old and accede to their wishes to retire and live with
their families.
Old Age Allowance
The Democratic Progressive Party announced a
manifesto on elderly pension allowance in the lead-up
to local elections in 1993. It called for a monthly cash
allowance of NT$3,000 or NT$5,000 per elderly voter.
This kind of universal subsidy is a classic representation
of “de-commercialization (de-commodification).”
It is also a main characteristic of a social democratic
institution.
Hsu Hsing-liang, the then chairman of the Democratic
Progressive Party, pointed out: “As long as
the government is clean and honest, this policy (old age
allowance) will not be a heavy financial burden." The
then ruling Kuomintang described that policy as “an act
of bribery” to win the 1993 elections. Hsu countered by
saying the Kuomintang “has bribed (voters) for 40
years, while the Democratic Progressive Party is bribing
only this time." Apparently, the Democratic Progress
Party was not prepared for elderly pension allowance.
It was a campaign promise to win local elections.