Pensions Act - Singapore Statutes Online

Pensions Act

(CHAPTER 225)

(Original Enactment: Ordinance 22 of 1956)

REVISED EDITION 1985

(30th March 1987)

An Act to regulate the granting of pensions, gratuities and other allowances to officers in the public service of Singapore.

[1st July 1956]

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Pensions Act.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“officer” includes a judge and a police officer of any rank;

“officer on the pensionable establishment” means an officer who has been confirmed in his appointment as the holder of a pensionable office;

“other public service” means public service not under the Government of Singapore;

“pensionable office” means —

(a)

in respect of public service in Singapore, an office or class of office declared by the President by notification in the Gazette, to be pensionable and not likewise declared, by subsequent notification in the Gazette, to be non-pensionable; but where by virtue of any such declaration any office ceases to be a pensionable office, then so long as any person holding that office at the time of the declaration continues therein, the office shall, as respects that person, continue to be a pensionable office;

(b)

in respect of other public service, an office which is a pensionable office under any law or regulation in force relating to such service;

“pensionable emoluments” means —

(a)

in respect of public service in Singapore —

(i)	the basic salary attached to a pensionable office or, in the case of an officer serving in a pensionable class, the basic salary payable to that officer as an officer of that class;
(ii)	any personal pensionable allowance; and
(iii)	such other allowances as may be prescribed by regulations to be pensionable allowances; and

(b)

in respect of other public service, emoluments which count for pension under any law or regulation in force relating to that service;

“public service” means service in a civil capacity under the Government of Singapore or in such other service as the President may determine to be public service for the purpose of any provision of this Act;

“Singapore” means —

(a)	in relation to any period ending before 3rd June 1959 — the Colony of Singapore; and
(b)	in relation to any period beginning on or after 3rd June 1959 and ending before 9th August 1965 — the State of Singapore.

President may make pensions regulations

3.—(1) It shall be lawful for the President to make regulations for the granting of pensions, gratuities and other allowances to persons who have been in the public service in Singapore or to their legal personal representatives or dependants:

Provided that until varied or revoked by any such regulations, the regulations contained in the First Schedule shall be in force.

(2) The President may, in making regulations under this section, provide for any officer or class of officers holding pensionable offices to opt for the provident fund scheme applicable to non-pensionable employees of the Government under the Central Provident Fund Act [Cap. 36] and for the terms and conditions of such option.

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(3) Any pension or gratuity granted under this Act shall be computed in accordance with the provisions in force at the actual date of an officer’s retirement.

(4) All such regulations shall be published in the Gazette and shall come into operation on such date as the President may prescribe:

Provided that where the President is satisfied that it is equitable that any regulation made under this Act should have retrospective effect in order to confer a benefit upon, or remove a disability attaching to, any person, that regulation may be given retrospective effect to any date, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, for that purpose.

(5) All such regulations and any regulation varying or revoking the same shall have the same force and effect for all purposes as if they were contained in this Act and the expression “this Act” shall in the following sections be read and construed accordingly.

(6) The regulations made under this section may provide that where a person has rendered full-time national service pursuant to section 10 of the Enlistment Act [Cap. 93], or pursuant to the provisions of any written law repealed by that Act (whether such service was rendered before or after that person became the holder of a pensionable office) the period of his entire full-time national service may be treated, to such extent and on such conditions as may be specified in the regulations, as pensionable service and that that service shall be deemed to be public service and that person shall be deemed to have been or to have continued to be, as the case may be, an officer in the public service for the period of that full-time national service for the purposes of this Act.

Pensions, etc., to be charged on Consolidated Fund

4. There shall be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund all such sums of money as may from time to time be granted by way of pension, gratuity or other allowance in accordance with this Act.

Pensions, etc., not of right

5.—(1) No officer shall have an absolute right to compensation for past services or to any pension, gratuity or other allowance under this Act, nor shall anything in this Act contained limit the right of the Government to dismiss any officer without compensation.

(2) Where it is established to the satisfaction of the President that an officer has been guilty of negligence, irregularity or misconduct, it shall be lawful for the President to reduce or altogether to withhold the pension, gratuity or other allowance for which such officer would have become eligible but for this section.

Service not counting for pension, etc.

6. No pension, gratuity or other allowance shall be granted under this Act to any officer —

(a)

in respect of any service while on probation or agreement, unless without break of service he is confirmed in a pensionable office in Singapore or in an office in other public service which is at the time of confirmation pensionable in accordance with any law or regulation in force in such service:

Provided that any interruption in service caused by temporary suspension of employment not arising from misconduct or voluntary resignation shall be disregarded for the purposes of this paragraph;

(b)

in respect of any service as a pupil, apprentice or volunteer, during which he is undergoing whole time training and for which he is not remunerated or receives only a subsistence allowance or a special apprentice pay and the President may, by notification in the Gazette, declare what service is to be service as a pupil, apprentice or volunteer for the purposes of this paragraph;

(c)

in respect of any service, while under the age of 18 years:

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to any officer or other person in the public service in Singapore at the commencement of this Act to whom, under any of the written laws repealed by section 19, a pension, gratuity or other allowance may be granted in respect of service while under the age of 18 years; or

(d)

in respect of any service, including service deemed under any written law for the time being in force to be service with the Government for the purposes of this Act, during which the officer was —

(i)

a member of any of the funds mentioned in Part I of the Second Schedule, except upon the condition that there shall be first paid to the Government the total amount paid by the Government and any of the authorities mentioned in Part II of that Schedule to any of the said funds excluding the amount paid on account of the officer if he is on the pensionable establishment with respect to such service or an equivalent amount if he is not on the pensionable establishment with respect to such service, together with the interest, if any, thereon; or

[26/72]

(ii)

eligible for any benefits on retirement under the Singapore City Council Superannuation Fund for Subordinate Employees Rules 1954 except upon the condition that he shall first relinquish all rights to such benefits under those Rules.

Cases in which pensions, etc., may be granted

7.—(1) No pension, gratuity or other allowance shall be granted under this Act to any officer until he shall have retired from the public service.

(2) Subject to section 17, no pension, gratuity or other allowance shall be granted under this Act to any officer who has retired from the public service in Singapore, unless he has retired —

(a)

in the case of male officers in the public service in Singapore at the commencement of this Act, with the consent of the President, on or after attaining the age of 50 years, and in other cases, on or after attaining the age of 55 years if a man, or of 45 years if a woman:

Provided that in the case of a female officer she was in the service before 1st March 1962 and has opted to retire on or after attaining the age of 45 years;

(b)

on or after attaining the age of 45 years if he is a police officer, including a police officer of such Auxiliary Police Force as may be specified by the President by notification in the Gazette, below the rank of assistant superintendent, prison officer below the rank of superintendent or a male nurse at a Government mental hospital;

(c)

on a certificate from the head of his department and on medical evidence to the satisfaction of the President that he is incapable, by reason of some infirmity of mind or body, of discharging the duties of his office and that such infirmity is likely to be permanent;

(d)

on abolition of his office;

(e)

in the case of termination of employment in the public interest as provided in section 8;

(f)

on compulsory retirement for the purpose of facilitating improvement in the organisation of the department to which he belongs by which greater efficiency or economy may be effected;

(g)

with the consent of the President, on or after completing 15 years of service as a Gurkha serving in the Gurkha Contingent of the Singapore Police Force;

(h)

in the case of a female officer appointed to the public service on or after 1st July 1956 or reappointed after resignation on account of marriage, with the consent of the President, on or after attaining the age of 50 years; or

(i)

with the consent of the President acting on the advice of the Cabinet, on or after completing 15 years of service, in special circumstances not falling within any of the preceding paragraphs.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a pension, gratuity or other allowance may be granted under this Act to —

(a)

any officer on his attaining the minimum age of retirement applicable to him specified in subsection (2)(a), (b) or (h) who, having retired from the public service of Singapore under the provisions of the Instruction Manual for the time being in force in order to be nominated as a candidate for election as a member of Parliament or of any local government authority in Singapore, has not subsequently been re-employed in the public service of Singapore:

Provided that —

(i)	where the President is satisfied that such an officer is physically or mentally incapacitated so as to be unable to continue in any employment before he has attained the minimum age of retirement applicable to him, he may be granted a pension, gratuity or other allowance with effect from the date he satisfies the President that he is so physically or mentally incapacitated; or
(ii)	where such an officer dies before he has attained the minimum age of retirement applicable to him, his dependants or legal personal representatives may be paid a gratuity in accordance with section 16; or

(b)

any officer who, not being an officer to whom paragraph (a) applies, having either completed 15 years public service or attained the age of 40 years and completed 10 years public service, has retired with the permission of the Chief Secretary, granted before 1st September 1958 in order to be nominated as a candidate for election as a member of the Legislative Assembly or of any local government authority in Singapore.

(4) The President may direct that any pension, gratuity or other allowance granted to an officer retired under subsection (2)(e) or (i) be suspended until and take effect from such date, not being later than the date the officer attains the minimum age, as the President may determine:

Provided that —

(a)	where the President is satisfied that such an officer is physically or mentally incapacitated so as to be unable to continue in any employment before he has attained the minimum age, he may be granted a pension, gratuity or other allowance with effect from the date he satisfies the President that he is so physically or mentally incapacitated;
(b)	where an officer dies before he has attained the minimum age, his dependants or legal personal representatives may be paid a gratuity in accordance with section 16;
(c)	no right shall accrue in respect of any pension, gratuity or other allowance during the period such pension, gratuity or other allowance has been suspended.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), “minimum age” means —

(a)

in the case of an officer who is entitled to retire at the age of 45 years — 45 years;

(b)

in the case of an officer appointed to the public service before 12th September 1986 other than an officer referred to in paragraph (a) — 50 years; and

(c)

in the case of an officer appointed to the public service on or after 12th September 1986 other than an officer referred to in paragraph (a) —

(i)	50 years if he is entitled to retire at the age of 50 or 55 years; and
(ii)	55 years if he is entitled to retire at the age of 60 years. [26/86]

(6) The pension so granted under subsection (4) shall be computed on the basis of his pensionable service up to the date of retirement as though he had retired on medical grounds under subsection (2)(c) except that an officer retired in the public interest under subsection (2)(e) may have his pension reduced under section 5(2).

Retirement in the public interest

8.—(1) Where an officer’s service is terminated on the ground that, having regard to the conditions of the public service, the usefulness of the officer thereto and all the other circumstances of the case, such termination is desirable in the public interest, and a pension, gratuity or other allowance cannot otherwise be granted to him under the provisions of this Act, the President may, if he thinks fit, grant such pension, gratuity or other allowance as he thinks just and proper, not exceeding in amount that for which the officer would be eligible if he retired from the public service in the circumstances described in section 7(2)(c).

[26/86]

(2) Where in the exercise of its powers of disciplinary control over public officers the Public Service Commission has ordered an officer to be retired in the public interest, the officer’s service shall be deemed to have been terminated under subsection (1).

[26/86]

Compulsory retirement

9. It shall be lawful for the President to require any officer to retire from the public service in Singapore —

(a)	who has attained, in the case of a male officer in the public service in Singapore at the commencement of this Act, the age of 55 years, and in the case of any other male officer the age of 60 years or 55 years if the President in any individual case so directs;
(b)	who, being a police officer below the rank of assistant superintendent, prison officer below the rank of superintendent or a male nurse at a Government mental hospital, has attained the age of 45 years;
(c)	whose retirement appears to the President to be desirable in the public interest;
(d)	who, being a woman appointed to the public service before 1st March 1962, is married or marries and has opted to remain eligible for a gratuity on marriage;
(e)	on the abolition of his office;
(f)	for the purpose of facilitating improvement in the organisation of the department to which he belongs by which greater efficiency or economy may be effected; or
(g)	who has attained, in the case of a female officer appointed to the public service on or after 1st March 1962, the age of 60 years or 55 years if the President in any individual case so directs.

Maximum pension from all public service

10.—(1) A pension granted to an officer under this Act shall not exceed two-thirds of the highest pensionable emoluments drawn by him at any time in the course of his public service in Singapore.

(2) Where an officer has been or is granted a pension or pensions in respect of other public service, he may be granted the full pension for which he is eligible in respect of his public service in Singapore, but no person may at any time draw from the Consolidated Fund an amount of pension which, when added to the amount of any pension or pensions drawn in respect of other public service, exceeds two-thirds of the highest pensionable emoluments drawn by that person at any time in the course of his public service in Singapore or in other public service:

Provided that where such a person receives, in respect of some period of public service, both a gratuity and a pension, the amount of such pension shall be deemed, for the purpose of this subsection, to be the amount of pension which would have been payable had the officer received a pension only and not a gratuity and a pension.

(3) In a case falling under the limitation laid down by subsection (2), the amount of pension to be drawn from the Consolidated Fund shall be subject to the approval of the President in order that it may be determined with due regard to the amount of any pension or pensions similarly to be drawn in respect of other public service.

(4) For the purpose of subsections (1), (2) and (3), an allowance granted in respect of injury or disease shall not be taken into account; but where the officer is granted such an allowance the amount of such allowance which he may draw shall not exceed one-sixth of his highest pensionable emoluments at any time in the course of his public service by more than the sum by which the amount of his pension or pensions, apart from such allowance, falls short of two-thirds of such highest pensionable emoluments.

Pensions, etc., not to be assignable

11. A pension, gratuity or other allowance granted under this Act shall not be assignable or transferable, except for the purpose of satisfying —

(a)	a debt due to the Government; or
(b)	an order of any court for the payment of periodical sums of money towards the maintenance of the wife or former wife or minor child, whether legitimate or not, of the officer to whom the pension, gratuity or other allowance has been granted,

and shall not be liable to be attached, sequestered or levied upon for or in respect of any debt or claim whatever except a debt due to the Government.

Liability of pensioners to be called upon to take further employment

12.—(1) Every pension granted under this Act shall be subject to the condition that unless and until the officer shall have reached the age of 50 years if a man, and of 45 years if a woman, he may, if physically fit for service, be called upon by the President to accept an office, in Singapore, not less in value than the office which he held at the date of retirement.

(2) If a pensioner so called upon declines to accept such office, the payment of his pension may be suspended until he has attained the age of 50 years if a man, and of 45 years if a woman.

(3) This section shall not apply to officers in the public service in Singapore at the commencement of this Act who retire otherwise than in the circumstances described in section 7(2)(d) or (f).

Pensions, etc., to cease on bankruptcy

13.—(1) No pension, gratuity or other allowance which would under this Act be granted to an officer shall be so granted if, at the date of his retirement from the public service, such officer has been adjudged a bankrupt or declared insolvent by judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, and has not obtained his discharge from such adjudication or declaration.

(2) If any person to whom a pension or other allowance has been granted under this Act is adjudicated a bankrupt or is declared insolvent by judgment of the court, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, then such pension or allowance shall forthwith cease.

(3) In any case where, by reason of bankruptcy or insolvency of the officer, a pension, gratuity or allowance is not granted or where a pension or allowance ceases by reason of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the pensioner, it shall be lawful for the President, from time to time, during the remainder of such pensioner’s life, or during such shorter period or periods, either continuous or discontinuous, as he shall think fit, to cause all or any part of the moneys to which such person would have been entitled by way of pension, gratuity or allowance, had he not become a bankrupt or insolvent, to be paid to, or applied for the maintenance and personal support or benefit of, all or any, to the exclusion of the other or others, of the following persons, namely, such pensioner himself and any wife, child or children of his, in such proportions and manner as the President thinks proper, and such moneys shall be paid or applied accordingly; moneys applied for the discharge of the debts of the officer or pensioner shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be regarded as applied for his benefit.

(4) When a person to whom a pension or allowance has not been granted or whose pension or allowance has ceased under this section obtains a full and proper discharge from his bankruptcy or insolvency, his pension or allowance shall be restored to him with effect from the date of such discharge.

Pensions, etc., to cease on conviction

14.—(1) If any person to whom a pension or other allowance has been granted under this Act is sentenced to death or penal servitude or any term of imprisonment, by any court of competent jurisdiction, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, for any crime or offence, it shall be lawful for the President to direct that such pension or allowance shall forthwith cease, and thereupon such pension or allowance shall cease accordingly:

Provided that the pension or allowance shall be restored with retrospective effect in the case of a person who after conviction at any time receives a free pardon.

(2) Where a pension or allowance ceases by virtue of a direction under subsection (1), it shall be lawful for the President to cause all or any part of moneys to which the pensioner would have been entitled by way of pension or allowance to be paid to or applied for the benefit of any wife, child or children of the pensioner, or after the expiration of his sentence, also for the benefit of the pensioner himself, in the same manner precisely and subject to the same qualifications and restrictions as in the case of bankruptcy or insolvency hereinbefore provided.

Pensions, etc., may cease on accepting employment in certain companies, or in engaging in certain occupations for gain

15.—(1) If any person to whom a pension or other allowance has been granted under this Act becomes either a director of any company, the principal part of whose business is in any way directly concerned with Singapore or Malaysia, or an officer or servant employed in Singapore or in Malaysia by any such company, or engages in any occupation for gain in Singapore or in Malaysia, without in every such case the permission of the President in writing first had and obtained, then, in every such case, it shall be lawful for the President to direct that such pension or allowance shall forthwith cease, and thereupon such pension or allowance shall cease accordingly:

Provided always that it shall be lawful for the President on being satisfied that the person in respect of whose pension or allowance any such direction shall have been given has ceased to be a director of such company or to be employed as an officer or servant of such company in Singapore or in Malaysia or has ceased to be engaged in such occupation as aforesaid, as the case may be, to give directions for the restoration of such pension or allowance, with retrospective effect if he shall see fit, to such date as he shall specify, and such pension or allowance shall be restored accordingly.

(2) This section shall cease to apply to any person to whom a pension or other allowance has been granted under this Act after a period of 5 years from the date of his retirement.

Gratuity where officer dies in service

16.—(1) Where an officer dies in the public service in Singapore, there shall be paid to such of his dependants as the President may think fit, or if there are no dependants, to his legal personal representative, a gratuity —

(a)	in the case of an officer holding a pensionable office who has not exercised an option mentioned in section 3(2), of an amount equal to 1/120 of one year’s pensionable emoluments for each complete month of service but such gratuity shall not be less than one year’s or more than 3 years’ pensionable emoluments;
(b)	in the case of an officer holding a pensionable office who has exercised an option mentioned in section 3(2), one year’s salary as at the date immediately prior to his option taking effect or the commuted pension gratuity which might have been granted to the officer if he had retired at the date of his death in the circumstances described in section 7(2)(c), whichever is the greater;
(c)	in any other case one year’s salary or his commuted annual allowance gratuity, whichever is the greater.

(2) Where an officer who has retired from the public service in Singapore dies within one year of his retirement, there shall be paid to such of his dependants as the President may think fit, or if there are no dependants, to his legal personal representative, a gratuity of an amount equal, in the case of an officer holding a pensionable office who has not exercised an option mentioned in section 3(2), to one year’s pensionable emoluments and, in any other case, to one year’s salary, from which gratuity there shall be deducted the amount of the gratuity, if any, which has been paid or is payable under this Act or any regulations made thereunder and any payment or payments of pension or allowance, other than any allowance granted in respect of an injury, which may already have been made.

(3) A gratuity (except for commuted annual allowance gratuity) to be granted under subsection (1) or (2) shall be reduced —

(a)

in the case of an officer transferred to the service of the Government from the service of an authority mentioned in Part II of the Second Schedule under any written law for the time being in force providing that service with that authority shall be deemed to have been service with the Government for the purposes of this Act —

(i)

by the total amount paid by the Government and that authority to any of the funds mentioned in Part I of the Second Schedule, excluding the amount paid on account of the officer if he is on the pensionable establishment with respect to such service, or an equivalent amount if he is not on the pensionable establishment with respect to such service with the Government and with that authority, together with the interest accrued thereon; and

(ii)

by the sum of money, if any, payable under the Singapore City Council Superannuation Fund for Subordinate Employees Rules 1954 in respect of the death of the officer; and

(b)

in the case of an officer not transferred to the service of the Government from the service of an authority as aforesaid and not in the public service on 31st March 1962, by the total amount paid by the Government to the Central Provident Fund, excluding the amount paid on account of the officer if he is on the pensionable establishment with respect to his public service or an equivalent amount if he is not on the pensionable establishment with respect to his public service.

(4) For the purposes of this section —

“one year’s salary” means the emoluments which would be taken for the purpose of computing any allowance or gratuity, or in the case of an officer holding a pensionable office who has exercised an option mentioned in section 3(2) any pension, which may be granted to the officer if he had retired at the date of his death in the circumstances described in section 7(2)(c);

“commuted annual allowance gratuity” means the gratuity which might have been granted to the officer under any regulation providing for the grant of a reduced annual allowance and a gratuity, if his public service had been wholly in Singapore and if he had retired at the date of his death in the circumstances described in section 7(2)(c); and for the purpose of calculating the same the officer shall be deemed to have elected to be paid an annual allowance at the rate of three-fourths of the annual allowance granted to him.

[26/86]

Gratuity to women officers retiring on account of marriage

17.—(1) Where an officer, being a woman and holding a pensionable office in Singapore, has completed not less than 5 years’ continuous service in Singapore, and resigns such office on account of marriage, or is required to retire from the public service under section 9(d), she may be granted, on production, within 6 months after her resignation or retirement, or such longer period as the President may in any particular case allow, of satisfactory evidence of her marriage, a gratuity calculated at the rate of one-twelfth of a month’s pensionable emoluments for each completed month of service:

Provided that such gratuity shall not exceed one year’s pensionable emoluments.

(2) No gratuity shall be granted under subsection (1) —

(a)	if the officer is otherwise eligible for a pension, gratuity or other allowance under this Act; or
(b)	if the officer was reappointed, after marriage, to the public service before 1st March 1962 or was appointed to such service on or after that date.

Application of this Act

18.—(1) Subject to subsection (3), the provisions of this Act shall apply —

(a)	to all officers appointed to the public service in Singapore; and
(b)	to all officers who have been transferred from Singapore to any other public service before the commencement of this Act:

Provided that nothing in this Act or in any regulations made thereunder shall diminish the amount of pension, gratuity (other than a gratuity under section 16) or other allowance for which an officer in the public service in Singapore at the commencement of this Act would have been eligible had this Act not been enacted or adversely affect the conditions which would have been applicable to such pension, gratuity or other allowance.

(2) In the application of this Act to officers who were officers on the Malayan Establishment within the meaning of section 2 of the Malayan Establishment Pensions Ordinance 1948 [M 12/48] immediately before 1st July 1954 the following provisions shall have effect:

(a)

where any such officer was in the public service in Singapore immediately before 1st July 1954 all rights accrued to such officer in respect of pensions, gratuities or other allowances under the Malayan Establishment Pensions Ordinance 1948 or the Minutes made thereunder shall continue to subsist under this Act as if service in respect of which such rights accrued had been public service in Singapore; and

(b)

nothing in this Act or in any regulations made thereunder shall diminish the amount of pension, gratuity or allowance for which any such officer as is referred to in paragraph (a) would have been eligible under the Malayan Establishment Pensions Ordinance 1948 or the Minutes made thereunder had such Ordinance not been repealed and had such officer continued to serve on the Malayan Establishment or shall adversely affect conditions that would have been applicable to such pension, gratuity or other allowances under such Ordinance or Minutes.

(3) Unless otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of this Act shall not apply —

(a)	to all officers appointed on or after 1st April 1986 to the public service in Singapore except officers who are appointed to such schemes of service as may be designated by the President; and
(b)	to all officers appointed on or after 1st December 1972 to any office in the public service in Singapore being an office designated as falling within Division III or IV, except officers who are so appointed to the Police (Junior) and the Narcotics schemes of service. [26/86]

Repeal and saving

19. The Ordinances set out in the Third Schedule are repealed:

Provided that —

(a)	all notifications declaring offices to be pensionable offices or classes to be pensionable classes made under the Ordinances hereby repealed shall be deemed to have been made under this Act and shall continue in force until cancelled or varied by notifications in the Gazette made under this Act;
(b)	all pensions, gratuities or other allowances granted under the Ordinances hereby repealed shall be deemed to have been granted under this Act, and shall continue to be payable until determined under and in accordance with this Act; and
(c)	all rights accrued in respect of pensions, gratuities or other allowances under the Ordinances hereby repealed shall continue to subsist under this Act as if service in respect of which such rights accrued had been service under the Government.

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