Police Average Life Expectancy Is 62, Taipei Councilor Calls for Health Checks for Younger Desk Officers

Taipei councilor Lin Yen-feng is urging the city government to extend health examination subsidies to police officers under 40 who work in desk positions, arguing that they also face heavy workloads and sustained stress.

Taiwan’s police officers have an average life expectancy of 62, according to statistics cited by Lin, far below the national average of 80.86 years. Taipei currently provides annual subsidies of NT$4,500 for firefighters and officers in field roles, and NT$8,600 for firefighters exposed to ionizing radiation. Police staff in desk jobs who are under 40 receive no subsidy.

Lin said younger desk officers can experience a sense of unfair treatment because their age and job classification exclude them from the program. She also said demanding schedules often make it difficult for frontline staff to arrange examinations, while some officers delay medical care when they feel unwell.

She proposed more flexible administrative procedures, including allowing unused examination funds to carry over to the following year. She also called for an overhaul of examination items that have not undergone major changes for decades. Taipei Police Commissioner Lin Yen-tien said the city is studying subsidies for officers under 40 in desk positions. He said police and firefighters are legally entitled to official leave for health checks and that supervisors would receive stronger reminders not to let scheduling interfere with that right.