New system of child rearing to increase the fertility rate

        The situation of fewer children in Taiwan is becoming more and more serious. In recent years, the government has offered a number of incentive and subsidy programs in order to enhance the desire of Chinese people to have children. Among them, the new system of "child care without pay" will be launched on July 1.

        According to the statistics of the Ministry of the interior at the beginning of this year, the natural growth of Taiwan's population ushered in the death cross for the first time. In addition to the recently released "total fertility rate forecast data for 2021" by the United States, Taiwan ranks the bottom of 227 countries in the world. In order to create a better environment for child rearing, the Executive Yuan passed the report on "measures to reduce the number of children", which includes the following policies: relaxation of child rearing stay and adjustment of working hours flexibility, expansion of the subsidy scheme for infertile test tube infants, and increase of the number and items of prenatal examination. A total of NT $9.1 billion will be invested in the new plan, which is expected to be officially launched on July 1. It is applicable to military, public, educational and labor sectors.

        1、 Relaxation of child care stay and adjustment of working hours flexibility

        After the implementation of the new system, parents will be allowed to apply for child care allowance at the same time. If the spouse is not employed, the other party can also apply for it. The application period can be less than 6 months (not less than 30 days) and can be limited to 2 times, but the employer should be informed in advance to facilitate the company's manpower deployment.

        In addition, in order to reduce the financial burden of parents during the period of stay and pay suspension, the government will give 20% of the insured salary subsidy in addition to the 60% of the original insured salary, with a salary replacement rate of 80%, so that parents can have no worries. If the maximum insured salary is 45800 yuan, each person can receive 36640 yuan per month, up to 6 months. If both parents apply at the same time, the total amount can be up to 439680 yuan.

        In the part of flexible working hours, according to the current gender work Equality Law, those who are employed in institutions with more than 30 employees and need to raise their children under the age of 3 can ask their employers to reduce their working hours by one hour or adjust their working hours without pay every day, and the employers shall not refuse; In the case of an institution with less than 30 employees, the relevant provisions of the law on gender equality in work can also be applied through labor employment negotiation.

        2、 Expanding the IVF subsidy program for infertility

        According to statistics, about 15% of Taiwan's couples suffer from infertility, which means one in seven couples is infertile. Therefore, the government has also expanded the relevant subsidy programs, hoping to make the way of seeking children more affordable.

                After the implementation of the new system, all infertile couples whose wives are under 45 years old can apply for the subsidy, and the institution can apply for the subsidy on behalf of them and conduct online audit. In terms of the amount of subsidy, the upper limit of subsidy for low-income households and low-income households is still maintained at 150000 yuan per time, while the upper limit of subsidy for ordinary couples is 100000 yuan for the first time, and 60000 yuan for the second time, with a maximum of six times per birth. According to the age range and treatment range, different times and percentages of each birth are provided.

                3、 Increase the times and items of production inspection

        The number of subsidies for prenatal examination has been increased from 10 to 14 (four new subsidies are added at the 8th, 20th, 30th and 37th week of pregnancy respectively). Those with special needs can apply for the number of prenatal examination to maintain maternal and fetal health and prevent pregnancy complications. In line with the increase in the number of antenatal care, the law on equality in gender education has also been amended from 5 days to 7 days. The additional 2 days' salary will be subsidized by the government, without increasing the burden on employers.

        In addition, in the production examination items, increased gestational diabetes screening and anemia tests were also added, and 2 general ultrasound examinations were also added. If problems were found, assistance in medical and health education could be provided as early as possible. In order to increase the willingness of doctors to invest in obstetrics and improve the quality of obstetric examination, we will also increase the cost of obstetric examination and examination. It is estimated that NT $1.25 billion will be invested every year, benefiting about 160000 pregnant women.

                This new system not only provides financial subsidies, but also provides considerable help for infertility and prenatal examination, hoping to effectively alleviate the trend of fewer children.

        (data sources: Ministry of labor, Ministry of health and welfare, commercial times, Central News Agency)