According to the Taipei Times and Liberty Times, the legislature passed the amendments on third reading after a vote, raising the monthly allowance from NT$8,110 to NT$15,000 (about US$458), retroactive to July 1. The allowance will be reviewed every two years and adjusted if the consumer price index rises 3 percent, with the central government covering the added cost.

Eligibility was also loosened. The annual non-agricultural income limit for applicants rises from NT$500,000 to NT$600,000, and the ceiling on assessed land and housing value rises from NT$5 million to NT$10.25 million. About 7,000 more people are expected to qualify.

Cabinet's NT$10,000 versus the opposition's NT$15,000

The Cabinet proposed NT$10,000 in January. The KMT and TPP caucuses argued a larger rise was needed to keep up with prices and put forward NT$15,000, which passed. KMT caucus secretary-general Hsu Yu-chen said it recognizes farmers' economic contribution, improves retirement security, eases children's burdens, narrows the urban-rural gap and supports food security.

The DPP sees it differently. DPP caucus deputy chief executive Chen Pei-yu said the Cabinet's proposal is the more fiscally responsible choice and warned that higher payments could mean more borrowing and crowd out other spending. The Ministry of Agriculture said NT$15,000 instead of NT$10,000 would cost an extra NT$32 billion a year, and the Cabinet said the added cost exceeds the government's budget capacity and would divert resources from other farm programs.

Three decades of increases

The allowance began in 1995 at NT$3,000 for farmers aged 65 or older who had been in farmers' insurance for at least 15 years. It rose to NT$7,000 in 2011 and to NT$8,110 in 2024 after a four-year CPI-based review.

Both sides have arguments, and whether the Cabinet will implement the law as passed and how it will find the money has not been confirmed. This paper will follow what comes next.