Housing and Development (Amendment) Ordinance

Bill No. 190/1963

Read the first time on 5th April 1963.
An Ordinance to amend the Housing and Development Ordinance, 1959 (No. 11 of 1959).
Be it enacted by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore, as follows: —
Short title and commencement
1.  This Ordinance may be cited as the Housing and Development (Amendment) Ordinance, 1963, and shall come into operation on such date as the Yang di-Pertuan Negara may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
Repeal and re-enactment of section 33
2.  Section 33 of the Housing and Development Ordinance, 1959, is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —
Pension schemes, provident fund, etc
33.—(1)  Subject to the approval of the Minister, the Board may make rules for the establishment of a scheme or schemes for the payment of pensions, gratuities, provident fund or other superannuation benefits to such officers or classes of officers of the Board, as it may determine, on their death or retirement from the service of the Board or on their otherwise leaving the service of the Board.
(2)  The following provisions shall apply to any scheme established under this section —
(a)no assurance on the life of any contributor under any such scheme, and no moneys or other benefits payable under any such assurance, and no payment made under any such scheme to any person who has been employed by the Board, shall be assignable or transferable, or liable to be garnished, attached, sequestered or levied upon for or in respect of any debt or claim whatsoever, other than a debt due to the Board or to the Government;
(b)no donation by the Board or contribution by its officers made under any such scheme and no interest thereon shall be assignable or transferable or liable to be attached, sequestered or levied upon for or in respect of any debt or claim whatsoever other than a debt due to the Board or to the Government;
(c)no such donation, contribution or interest shall be subject to the debts of the contributor, nor shall such donation, contribution or interest pass to the Official Assignee on the bankruptcy of such contributor, but, if such contributor is adjudicated a bankrupt or is declared insolvent by a court, such donation, contribution or interest shall, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, be deemed to be subject to a trust in favour of the persons entitled thereto on the death of the contributor;
(d)the bankruptcy of a contributor shall not affect the making of deductions from the salary of the contributor in accordance with any such scheme, but such deductions shall continue to be made notwithstanding the provisions of any written law, and the portion of salary so deducted shall not be deemed to form part of his after-acquired property;
(e)subject to the provisions of any such scheme, all moneys paid or payable under any such scheme on the death of a contributor shall be deemed to be subject to a trust in favour of the persons entitled thereto under the will or intestacy of such deceased contributor, or under a nomination in such form as may be prescribed in such scheme, and shall not be deemed to form part of his estate or be subject to the payment of his debts but shall be deemed to be property passing on his death for the purposes of the Estate Duty Ordinance (Cap. 162);
(f)any contributor may by a memorandum under his hand appoint a trustee or trustees of the moneys payable on his death out of any such scheme and may make provision for the appointment of a new trustee or new trustees of such moneys and for the investment thereof; such memorandum shall be in the form prescribed in such scheme and shall be deposited with the Board;
(g)if at the time of the death of any contributor or at any time afterwards, there is no trustee of such moneys or it is expedient to appoint a new trustee or new trustees, then and in any such case a trustee or trustees or a new trustee or trustees may be appointed by the High Court or a Judge thereof; and
(h)the receipt of a trustee or trustees duly appointed, or in default of any such appointment and of written notice thereof to the Board, the receipt of the legal personal representative of a deceased contributor shall be a discharge to the Board for any moneys payable on his death out of any such scheme.”.
Repeal and re-enactment of section 35
3.  Section 35 of the Housing and Development Ordinance, 1959, is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —
Safeguarding of Provident Fund benefits
35.—(1)  Rules for the maintenance of the Municipal Provident Fund made under section 12 of the Local Government Integration Ordinance, 1963 (Ord. of 1963), shall be binding upon the Board and its officers.
(2)  Until such Rules are made, the Municipal (Provident Fund) Rules, 1956, as from time to time amended, shall continue to apply to every person transferred to the service of the Board under section 32 of this Ordinance who, immediately prior to the coming into operation of this Ordinance, was a member of the Municipal Provident Fund, or would have been eligible for membership of the said Fund if he had attained the age of twenty years and had passed a medical examination of the standard prescribed, in the like manner as the said Rules applied to such persons immediately prior to the coming into operation of this Ordinance, and every reference to service or employment with the City Council in the said Rules shall be construed as a reference to service or employment with the Board in respect of such persons.
[G.N. No. S 179/56]
(3)  Until such Rules are made, the provisions of the Municipal (Provident Fund) Rules, 1956, as from time to time amended, requiring the City Council to make payments into the Municipal Provident Fund shall apply to the Board and be construed as provisions requiring the Board to make payments into the said Fund in respect of every person referred to in subsection (2) of this section who is or who becomes a member of the said Fund.
(4)  Persons who have been transferred to the service of the Board under section 32 of this Ordinance may count their previous service in the Singapore Improvement Trust and their previous membership of the Municipal Provident Fund and their contributions to the said Fund for the purpose of determining the benefits to which they become entitled under this section.”.