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Taiwan’s National Health Insurance and National Pension 🇹🇼
Enrollment, pension benefits, and autopay—plus travel deals and Taiwan life tips
Michael Wu
October 30, 2026
I was back in Taiwan for a bit after the summer, with plenty of travel mixed in (check out my travels on Instagram 😎). Between trips, I managed to catch up on some Taiwan paperwork: I finally enrolled in National Health Insurance (NHI) and looked into the National Pension bills I keep getting.
This edition covers what I learned about those two programs, plus a few travel deals and practical Taiwan life tips.
Table of Contents
ANA softens Super Flyers lounge cuts—but keeps the ¥3 million split
ANA has walked back some of its planned Super Flyers Card (SFC) cuts. Members spending under ¥3 million a year on an ANA Card or ANA Pay were going to lose ANA lounge access entirely. These SFC LITE members will now keep access on ANA-operated flights: international lounges at Haneda, Narita, and Honolulu, and domestic lounges outside peak periods.
The ¥3 million spending requirement remains. That gets you SFC PLUS, Star Alliance Gold, full lounge access, and a 5,000-mile bonus. Below that, LITE gets Star Alliance Silver and loses Gold benefits on partner airlines. Members with 1 million ANA Lifetime Miles qualify for PLUS without the spending. The first spending period is December 16, 2026–December 15, 2027; the new tiers start in April 2028. More on the changes here.
IHG Premier Select: 200,000-point launch offer
I’m excited about Chase’s new IHG One Rewards Premier Select: 200,000 points after $5,000 in purchases within three months. The offer runs through November 18, 2026, with a $350 annual fee. Here’s my referral link; I may earn a bonus if you apply.
The perks I like: 20 elite night credits at opening and each year, Platinum Elite, $300 a year in IHG food and beverage rewards ($75 per quarter), and a $200 annual airline credit through 2027.
A few catches: the airline credit requires a $250+ flight purchase directly with an airline. The food vouchers expire quarterly and cover eligible room charges at participating hotels. Full terms here.
I’ve found great IHG hotels all over Asia and beyond, so it’s a good alternative when Hyatt doesn’t have a convenient hotel. I also like the fourth night free on points stays as a cardholder. At 40 qualifying nights, you can choose Annual Lounge Membership as a milestone award, and this card’s 20 night credits get you halfway there. Lounges often include breakfast, depending on the hotel.
When redeeming, aim for over 0.6¢ per point, roughly NerdWallet’s baseline. IHG runs frequent sales around 0.5¢ per point (currently through November 5; offers vary). Points & Cash can get close to that too, but check the hotel and do the math: extra cash ÷ points saved. Compare the total with the cash rate before booking. If you cancel, the refund is in points.
Taiwan’s Lucky Land draw is back for returning visitors
Taiwan’s Lucky Land draw is back for repeat visitors, under “Return to Taiwan, Double Your Luck.” Winners get NT$5,000 in spending credit. Bring one eligible friend or relative and they get NT$3,000 if you win.
It covers arrivals from October 10, 2026–March 31, 2027, while funding lasts. You need a non-Taiwanese passport, a 3–90 day stay, and a previous visit since January 1, 2023. Your companion must not have visited Taiwan since then. Group tours don’t qualify.
Register online 7–90 days before arrival. Draws run every Wednesday before your trip, so earlier registration gives you more chances. If you win, you have 24 hours after entering Taiwan to verify with your return ticket, then another 24 hours to redeem at a 7-Eleven with your passport and QR code. The credit goes onto an EasyCard, iPASS, or icash card. Official rules here.
Applying for my first Taiwan NHI card: pickup still pending
I went to my local district office, 區公所 (qū gōngsuǒ), to enroll in Taiwan’s National Health Insurance, 健保 (jiànbǎo), for the first time after establishing household registration, 戶籍 (hùjí).
Taiwan’s healthcare is impressively affordable, and NHI makes a big difference to what you pay. It covers doctor and specialist visits, hospital care, dental treatment, and more at participating providers. You still pay premiums, copays, and registration fees.
A concrete example: a dental cleaning that costs me around NT$1,200–1,400 without NHI drops to about NT$150 with it. NHI generally covers a routine cleaning every six months for adults, though your clinic’s fees may differ.
The NHI card, 健保卡 (jiànbǎo kǎ), is also useful as a second ID. Chunghwa Telecom accepts it alongside your national ID for online phone-plan applications. You can use it to register for EZ WAY, the customs app for overseas parcels, though that method needs a physical card and card reader.
I wasn’t sure I qualified: it had been over six months since I established household registration, but I’d been in and out of Taiwan a lot. For Taiwanese citizens registering for the first time, the six-month wait is based on continuous household registration, so those trips weren’t the issue I thought they might be. People enrolling through a residence permit without household registration have a different residence and travel-day calculation.
They asked for a 現戶謄本 (xiànhù téngběn), a current household registration transcript, and a 除戶謄本 (chúhù téngběn), a transcript of a former register. This was my first registration, so I had no former register to provide.
Luckily, the household registration office, 戶政事務所 (hùzhèng shìwùsuǒ), was in the same building. I lined up there, paid NT$15 for the current transcript, then went back to the NHI counter.
Enrollment went through. Staff told me to pick up the card the next day at the NHIA Taipei office, 健保署 (jiànbǎoshǔ), at 15-1 Gongyuan Road, 公園路 (Gōngyuán Lù).
Then I got busy, and the one day I was free turned into a typhoon day. So I still haven’t picked up the card. Oops—next visit.
Taiwan’s National Pension: worth a closer look
Since I established household registration (戶籍, hùjí), I’ve been getting bills for National Pension (國民年金, guómín niánjīn). I looked into what I’m paying for, and the retirement benefits look better than I expected.
This section is for Taiwanese citizens, including dual citizens, with household registration. If you’re living in Taiwan as a foreign resident, you don’t pay into National Pension just because you have a residence or work permit.
Who gets enrolled?
Taiwanese citizens aged 25–64 with household registration are generally enrolled when they aren’t covered by Labor Insurance (勞保, láobǎo) or the farmer, civil servant/teacher, or military programs. Having already received certain Taiwanese retirement benefits can also exclude you.
Working overseas, freelancing, or being between jobs doesn’t exempt you. A Taiwanese job with Labor Insurance pauses your National Pension coverage; it resumes afterward if you’re still eligible.
Living abroad doesn’t stop coverage while you remain eligible with household registration. Moving your registration overseas stops new coverage, but doesn’t erase years already paid.
One example, using 2026 rates
There are two formulas for your monthly pension from age 65. Formula A adds a flat amount to a payment based on your contribution years. Formula B is based entirely on those years. You get the higher one you qualify for.
The premium uses a fixed insured amount, not your actual salary. The government covers 40%, with larger subsidies for some groups. Here’s a 10-year example at 2026 rates:
Your premium: NT$1,329/month, or NT$15,948/year. Ten years would cost NT$159,480. Premium calculation.
Formula A: NT$4,049 + (NT$21,103 × 10 × 0.65%) = about NT$5,421/month.
Formula B: NT$21,103 × 10 × 1.3% = about NT$2,743/month.
Payments continue monthly for life. You don’t need ten years of contributions to qualify—that’s just the example.
Check that you qualify for Formula A. A Taiwanese Labor Insurance old-age pension, certain other Taiwanese retirement benefits or welfare allowances, or permanently unpaid periods can rule it out. BLI lists the exclusions alongside its calculator.
This example uses 2026 premiums and benefits. Both may change in the future.
Can you ignore the bills?
A friend mentioned to me that she’s been throwing away her pension bills 😅, so I wanted to look into what you pay, what you get, and whether it’s worth it. Paying is legally mandatory if you’re eligible, but you aren’t fined simply for not paying, and unpaid premiums aren’t subject to compulsory collection. Separate rules do allow payment demands and possible fines for spouses.
The bigger catch is your pension. You have ten years to catch up, with interest where applicable. After that, unpaid periods can’t count toward your pension and make you ineligible for Formula A. Your old-age pension would then use Formula B instead, losing the flat amount that makes A attractive.
Before dismissing the bills, check your paid years, outstanding bills, and Formula A eligibility.
You generally need about 10 years of work paying into U.S. Social Security to qualify for retirement benefits—that’s 40 work credits. If you fall short, years covered by another country’s social security system can help if it has a totalization agreement with the U.S. and you have at least six U.S. credits.
Japan has an agreement, so my covered years working there can help. Taiwan has no such agreement: Taiwan pension years don’t count toward U.S. eligibility, and paying U.S. Social Security doesn’t exempt you from Taiwanese National Pension.
Autopay for NHI and National Pension
I’ve just enrolled in NHI (健保, jiànbǎo), so I haven’t received a bill from that yet. I’ve been getting National Pension bills every two months and paying them in person. I’d rather set up autopay for both than keep track of paper bills while traveling.
To find a bank that supports autopay, check NHIA’s bank list for NHI and the Bureau of Labor Insurance’s list for National Pension. Some banks allow online setup; others require a branch visit with your passbook, bank seal, and ID.
My only Taiwan bank account is with HSBC (滙豐銀行, huìfēng yínháng). I use it for easy, fee-free transfers between my HSBC accounts through HSBC Premier. But HSBC is on neither autopay list, so I still need an account at a participating bank to pay my NHI and National Pension premiums automatically.
Find your garbage truck stop in Taiwan
In Taiwan, many residents take their trash directly to a garbage truck at a scheduled stop, rather than leave it out for collection. To catch the truck, listen for “Für Elise.” If you hear the song, it’s time to get chasing!
If you’re lucky enough to live in a building with a trash collection area, you can skip this routine. You can also pay someone to collect your trash if you’d rather not deal with truck schedules.
To avoid chasing the truck, use the free Taiwan Garbage Truck Tracker. Find a stop near your address and set a reminder 5–30 minutes before arrival. It covers all 22 counties and cities, with live GPS tracking in New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. Elsewhere, you get schedules and reminders.
Australia to offer test-free exchanges of Taiwanese driving licenses
Taiwan is joining Australia’s Recognised Overseas Licences Scheme. Eligible holders of Taiwanese car and motorcycle licenses will be able to exchange them for local licenses without written or practical tests.
The announced start dates depend on the state or territory:
October 31, 2026: Western Australia and Queensland, the earliest expected start.
January 1, 2027: New South Wales, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.
February 1, 2027: Tasmania.
Still to be announced: Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory.
You’ll still need to meet the local ID, age, health, and license requirements. Check your state or territory’s transport authority for the start date and whether your license qualifies.
Conclusions
I hope you got something useful out of this dive into Taiwan’s social insurance programs, along with the other travel and life tips!
Comments or questions? Email me at [email protected]. You can also support the newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber or joining my Patreon.
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