讀後心得

As of the end of February, the Labor Fund's earnings reached NT$107.5 billion, with an yield of approximately 1.58%. However, due to Trump's tariff policies and inflationary pressures in the United States, the Taiwan stock market has been affected, and the uncertainty in the financial market may increase, with market fluctuations expected to continue this year. The Secretary-General of the Labor Front pointed out that poor stock market conditions will impact the distribution of labor retirement fund earnings. Therefore, when the yield is negative, workers can choose to defer their claims and wait until the earnings turn positive before withdrawing. According to regulations, the labor retirement funds will allocate the profits and losses from the previous year each year until the workers turn sixty, at which point they can withdraw them. If the yield is positive, the timing for claiming is better; conversely, workers are advised to patiently wait for the earnings to return to positive. The Bureau of Labor Insurance also stated that if the earnings are negative, there will be guaranteed earnings to make up for the shortfall, so the impact will not be too significant.

As of the end of February this year, the evaluated returns of the Labor Fund have reached 107.5 billion yuan, with a yield of approximately 1.58%. However, due to the impact of reciprocal tariff policies, coupled with inflationary pressures in the United States, Taiwan's stock market has also been affected, leading to increased uncertainty in the financial markets. It is expected that the market will face greater volatility this year, and this situation may persist for some time.

The Secretary-General of the Taiwan Labor Front stated that if the stock market performs poorly, it will impact the distribution amount of labor pension funds; therefore, in the event of a negative yield, individuals may choose to delay claiming until the yield returns to a positive value. According to current regulations, the new labor pension system is tailored to each worker's individual account, and the previous year's gains and losses will be rolled into personal accounts every March, which can be accessed when an individual reaches the age of sixty. When the new labor pension fund's yield is positive and the yield increases, it will be the optimal time to make a claim.

However, if the yield is negative, financial experts typically recommend waiting until the yield turns positive before considering a claim. For instance, if a worker's new labor pension account has accumulated about one million yuan after years of profit distribution, and they turn sixty this April, they submit a claim. Since the gains for the period from January to April this year have yet to be distributed, the Labor Insurance Bureau will calculate the returns based on the latest yield of 1.58% as of the end of February, along with the accumulated amount. This calculation method may allow the worker to receive a bit more; conversely, if they choose to retire in June, due to the influence of the global stock market, the yield in April is likely to be negative, which would reduce the amount of the pension fund.

However, if the overall accumulated earnings during the contribution period do not meet the guaranteed returns, the treasury will make up the difference. In recent years, major labor funds have generally maintained positive yields, and workers undoubtedly hope this situation continues so that the final settlement amount distributed can be higher. However, since stock market fluctuations are unpredictable, there is always a risk of facing a financial storm. Additionally, the labor pension regulations stipulate that returns must not be lower than the interest rates of local banks' two-year fixed deposits; if the returns fall below this standard, the treasury will make up the difference, so the impact of the stock market on the new labor pension system will not be so severe.

The Labor Insurance Bureau pointed out that the return distribution of the new labor pension will calculate the previous year's gains and losses every March. If the yield is positive, that is the best time to claim; and when the yield is negative, one may wait a bit. Regarding the impact of the positive or negative differences in yield on claims, the Labor Insurance Bureau stated that the accumulated principal and returns in the account will involve government subsidies during settlement. If the yield announced for that month is positive, but in the actual month of claiming, it is negative, negative returns will occur. However, since each worker's account principal varies and the negative yield rate for the month of the claim cannot be estimated, the calculations can be quite complex.