With the emergence of democratisation in Taiwan, political parties compete over social welfare and pension benefits to please voters. Voters want substantial increases in social welfare and pension benefits but are fiercely resistant to tax increases. Taiwan’s government debt has continued to accumulate considerably. The Ministry of Civil Service estimates that many of the pension systems will go broke soon. Taiwan’s pension system is rather complicated; it is being restructured. Without a sustainable pension system, future generations of taxpayers will shoulder the pension spending on current generations. Ending Taiwan’s low economic growth is a prerequisite for a sustainable pension system.
