The Utilization and Limitation of the Retired Civil Servants
Author：Thomas C. P. Peng Associate Research Fellow
Release Date：2017/05/11
Origin of Topic
In recent years, Taiwan’s civil service retirement age has gradually declined. In 2015, the average retirement ages for government employees and public school teachers were 55.7 and 54, respectively. Loosened retirement restrictions is the main reason for the decline in retirement age of civil servants, and consequently leading to a substantial increase in the financial burden of the government. Furthermore, because the pension of civil servants is relatively higher compared to those employed in the private sector, and in accordance with the law that allows civil servants to retire as early as 50 years of age, not only can the retirees establish a second career while receiving their pension but also have the money and leisure to travel in Taiwan and abroad. Naturally, this has led to the general public protesting in the name of injustice and stigmatizing all civil servants.
Making good use of retired manpower has long been a trend in Europe and the United States. For example, the Baby Safe Haven Foundation, founded by retired American medical workers, has rescued 3,300 abandoned babies by the end of 2016. Higher education, work experience, and familiarity with the public sector have provided civil servants with an advantage over the general public. Moreover, on average, Taiwanese remain fairly healthy for 10 years after retirement, and thus, even retiring at 65, civil servants are still young and healthy enough to work as volunteers. Taking into account of the situation of retired civil servants in the next 10 to 20 years, this article will discuss how to efficiently utilize retired civil service manpower in the next 20 years, how the government should encourage retired civil servants to participate in voluntary work, and how to ensure the retirees’ skills are better matched to the needs of the government and communities.（.....more）
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