Small Adjustment to the Old Farmer Allowance: Two Hundred Farmers Expected to No Longer Be Excluded by the Wealth Test Due to Land Value Increases

In order to make the eligibility conditions for the old farmer allowance consistent with those of the national pension, the Executive Yuan today passed a draft amendment to the Temporary Act on the Old Farmer Allowance, which is expected to ensure that the hundred farmers who were originally affected by the wealth exclusion clause and unable to claim the old farmer allowance will no longer lose their eligibility to claim it simply because the announced land value has risen by more than 5 million New Taiwan dollars, as long as they have not bought or sold real estate.

After Deducting Farmland and Farmhouses, Those with Land Value Over 5 Million Can Still Receive the Old Farmer Allowance

Regarding the draft, Zhou Ruonan, deputy director of the Counseling Division of the Council of Agriculture, explained that Article 4 of the original Temporary Act on the Old Farmer Allowance stipulated that elderly farmers already receiving welfare allowances would have their payments suspended if the combined value of their personally owned land and buildings reached 5 million New Taiwan dollars or more (excluding farmland and farmhouses). This provision was designed to exclude farmers who benefited from increases in the announced current value of land.

Zhou Ruonan also said that, in the absence of any transactions, the above provision has caused many old farmers to be unable to receive the monthly allowance of 7,256 yuan, affecting their livelihoods; in addition, many "public facility reservation land" parcels have been designated under urban plans, and since the government has not expropriated them for many years, the value of such land cannot be deducted either, seriously affecting the rights and interests of applicants for elderly farmers' welfare allowances.

Two Hundred Farmers Across Taiwan Can Claim the Allowance

But how many farmers are actually affected? Statistics from the Council of Agriculture show that about two hundred farmers across Taiwan have lost their eligibility to claim the allowance for this reason, and since the public's rights and interests are affected by "government announcements," this does not conform to the principles of fairness and justice, which is why the amendment was undertaken.

Council of Agriculture: Estimated Increase of 100 Million Yuan in Expenditure

In this regard, Zhou Ruonan pointed out that in order to care for farmers, the Council of Agriculture is adjusting the regulation so that at the very least the baseline for receiving the national pension and the old farmer allowance is consistent; therefore, after excluding basic needs such as farmland and farmhouses, if the market value of non-agricultural land rises by more than 5 million yuan due to a government announcement, old farmers may continue to apply for the allowance.

She gave an example: if an old farmer owns farmland and a farmhouse used for farming activities, plus a piece of building land with a market value of 3 million, under the original rules, if the value of that building land reaches 6 million after a government announcement, the old farmer loses eligibility to claim the allowance. But once the draft amendment passes, the restriction on adjustments to announced land value is removed, and as long as "no new property has been added," the old farmer may continue to apply for the allowance subsidy.

As for the draft, after passing review by the Executive Yuan, the Council of Agriculture also hopes it can be deliberated and approved by the Legislative Yuan as soon as possible in order to safeguard old farmers' rights and interests. As for the specific expenditure, the Council of Agriculture emphasized that it is estimated to increase spending by about 100 million yuan.

(Lead image / photo credit: Morgain Bailey via photopin (license))