TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese who are still working say they need NT$12.12 million (US$392,000) in savings before they can consider retiring, but most of them only have NT$2.5 million at their disposal, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) said Wednesday (Dec. 14).
Since 2017, the leading think tank has conducted surveys about the financial and investment habits of different generations of Taiwanese, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported.
The latest poll found that most people, no matter whether they have already retired or not, said they had not prepared enough money to spend their retirement in a comfortable way. According to the survey, people who were already retired said they had accumulated NT$6.9 million in funds, not including the value of real estate, but needed NT$9.64 million before considering retirement.
People still working mentioned an average of NT$2.5 million as their capital, while they said they would need at least NT$12.12 million if they wanted to retire.
The CIER noted the younger generations showed a rising level of interest in the stock market, especially over the past two years. While more than 50% still rely on the government for their pensions, the idea that people need to provide for their own retirement pay is gaining ground, CIER economists said.
The think tank used the survey results to call for more flexibility on the part of the government to allow the public to choose their preferred form of retirement pay. The longer people hold on to shares, the more tax cuts they should receive, the CIER proposed.
