The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 20th that it convened the Central Committee on National Basic Living Security and discussed a new method for calculating the "standard median income" and matters needed to decide next year's "standard median income." The standard median income is the figure that serves as the benchmark for welfare programs, determined by the Central Committee on National Basic Living Security based on the median income—the midpoint of household incomes nationwide.
This year also marks the end of the application of the current method for calculating the standard median income. In 2020, the Central Committee on National Basic Living Security decided that for the next six years (2021–2026), the standard median income would be set as the sum of a base growth rate, defined as the three-year average growth rate, and an additional growth rate. Starting next year, a new method for calculating the standard median income must be prepared.
The standard median income set by the Central Committee on National Basic Living Security has faced criticism for being lower than the median income aggregated by the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS). In response, the committee reviewed measures at the meeting to supplement the calculation method for the standard median income in light of abrupt changes in income statistics. However, it said further discussion is needed and did not reach a final conclusion.
An official at the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, "Through follow-up discussions, we plan to finalize the new calculation method and next year's standard median income by the end of this month."