A Comparison Of Taiwan’s And Mainland China’s Civil Service Retirement System

China’ reform in 1978 has revived and boosted the country’s economic development,and later, the joining of the World Trade Organization(WTO) has brought more impacts tothis country through globalization. To cope with demands for economic and political reforms,the government has restructured the personnel system. With the promulgation of “TemporaryRegulation of Civil Servants” in 1993 and “Civil Servant Law of the People Republic ofChina ”in 2005, China has gradually built its civil servant system on a legal basis. Yet sincethe launch of the “Civil Servant Law of the People Republic of China” various issues havecome to the surface and require review and improvement; for example, the differentretirement age between men and women, inflexible retirement conditions, financial pressurefrom retirement pensions, and the set up of personal payment accounts.As for Taiwan, the government has launched a new retirement pension system in July1995, and civil servants’ retirement pension budget has been changed from the conventionalsuperannuation system to a contributory pension fund system. Various shortcomings of thisnew system have also gradually appeared. Furthermore, due to longer lifespans, lowerretirement age, increased number of retirees, and prolonged retirement pension payments, thegovernment amended the Civil Service Retirement Act in 2010 by delaying the age forretirement, delaying or extending the monthly retirement pension payments “Civil ServiceRetirement Act”, rationalizing the retirement pensions, and eliminating the increasing ofretirement pensions for those voluntarily retired at the age of 55 as well as restrictions onretirement reappointment. Though the amendment has been completed, liability risks stillexist in the retirement pension payment system and the sustainable management of retirementpension funds. To reduce this risk, a second stage of reform is necessary. Analyzing andcomparing between systems is helpful for understanding not only directions for futuredevelopment but also the retirement system of civil servants of China’s mainland the Taiwan region.