In order to implement the fundamental national policies of labor protection (regulated by Article 153 of the Constitution) and realization of the social security system (regulated by Article 10, Paragraph 8, of the Amendment to the Constitution), the labor insurance system is established as one of the social welfare measures. The labor insurance system is to secure workers* livelihoods and promote social security. According to international conventions and other countries* relevant systems, social insurance generally provides two kinds of protection－ cash benefits and welfare services. Cash benefits are used to compensate the insured for loss of income caused by age, disability, death, illness, maternity, work-related injuries or unemployment. This kind of benefit has the functions of helping to maintain the insured person’s livelihood and substituting for income. On the other hand, social welfare services directly offer hospitalized care, medical services and rehabilitation aid. This kind of benefit is called "benefit in kind" academically. The premium paid by the insured is not the only source for the social insurance fund. The current labor insurance system in Taiwan is the same as that of other modern nations. According to Title IV of the Labor Insurance Act, the benefits paid to the insured or their beneficiaries include the benefits for maternity, injuries, illness, medical care, disability, age and death. The insured and the insurance entity pay the labor insurance premium in accordance with the percentage stipulated in Article 15 of the Act. The central government and municipal city governments also provide subsidies to the insurance fund.
When the insurance peril occurs, the insurance payments received by the insured or their beneficiaries are disbursed from the labor insurance fund, which includes the money appropriated by the government when the labor insurance system was established, the premium of the said year, the interest of the premium of the said year, the remainder left after the expenditure of insurance payment, the overdue charge of the premium, and the revenues derived from operating the fund (See Article 66 of the Labor Insurance Act). Therefore, the insurance fund, from which the insurance payment comes, is not the private property of the insured. The allowance (regulated by Article 63 of the Labor Insurance Act) that the survivor is entitled to claim when the insured dies is paid by the labor insurance program for the purpose of taking care of the survivor and helping the survivor avoid financial difficulties. It should thus be based upon the survivor*s need to be supported. Therefore, the survivor allowance is different from a lawful inheritance. The purview of survivors is also different from that of heirs as stipulated in Article 1138 of the Civil Code.
Article 27 of the Labor Insurance Act provides that "The children adopted by the insured are not entitled to claim the insurance benefits if the time between the registration of the adoption and the insurance peril is less than six months." Under this regulation, the children adopted by the insured are entitled to claim the insurance benefits only if the time between the registration of the adoption and the insurance peril is no less than six months. Although fraudulent claims can be avoided by this regulation, it can not satisfy the constitutional principle that the government is responsible for supporting people who are incapable of making a living. Therefore, the restrictions made by Article 27 of the Labor Insurance Act should be amended. As long as the court approves the adoption and the adopted children are truly supported by the insured during his/her lifetime and they are unable to make a living after the insured dies, the adopted children should be entitled to claim the survivor allowance. Such an amendment will better satisfy the purpose of the survivor allowance system regulated in the Labor Insurance Act. Moreover, under the regulation of Articles 63 and 64 of the Act, spouses, children, parents and grandparents are entitled to claim the survivor allowance based on their ethical relationship. They may receive the benefits mentioned above unconditionally in the sequence stipulated in Article 65 of the Act. As for the insured*s grandchildren and siblings, they are entitled to claim the survivor allowance only if they have been financially supported by the insured before the insured dies. The survivor allowance was originally designed to provide living expenses to the survivors who were truly supported by the insured while he/she was alive, so that the survivors would not suffer from financial need after the insured dies. Therefore, the right to claim the survivor allowance should be based on the condition that the claimant is in fact supported by the insured during his/her lifetime and the claimant is unable to make a living after the insured dies. To interpret the right to claim the survivor allowance this way is more consistent with the abovementioned constitutional principle. Therefore, Articles 27, 63, 64 and 65 of the Labor Insurance Act should be amended within two years from the date of this Interpretation. Moreover, an overall examination and arrangement, regarding the survivor allowance, insurance benefits and other relevant matters, should be done in accordance with the principles of this Interpretation, international labor conventions and the pension plan of the social security system.
*Translated by Professor Chin-Chin Cheng