Widows’ and Orphans’ Pension (Amendment) Ordinance

Bill No. 21/1964

Read the first time on 10th June 1964.
An Ordinance to amend the Widows’ and Orphans’ Pension Ordinance (Chapter 61 of the Revised Edition).
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 Widows’ and Orphans’ Pension (Amendment) Ordinance, 1964, and shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 2nd day of March 1961.
Amendment of section 2
2.  Section 2 of the Widows’ and Orphans’ Pension Ordinance (hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as the “principal Ordinance”) is hereby amended by deleting the definition of “public servant” appearing therein and substituting therefor the following: —
“ “public servant” means an officer holding a pensionable office or an officer serving on probation or on agreement in a pensionable office, in the service of the Government, but does not include an officer —
(a)who is not restricted by law to one wife at a time; or
(b)who, on or after the 2nd day of March 1961, —
(i)is appointed to a pensionable office; or
(ii)is appointed to a pensionable office on probation or on agreement, in the service of the Government; or
(c)who is transferred to the service of the Government under the provisions of section 9 of the Local Government Integration Ordinance, 1963 (Ord. 18 of 1963), or section 5 of the Planning Ordinance, 1959 (Ord. 12 of 1959);”.
Amendment of section 5
3.  Section 5 of the principal Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting subsection (5) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —
(5)  An officer who held a non-pensionable office in the service of the Government and had been appointed to a pensionable office before the 2nd day of March 1961, shall be deemed to have entered such service on the date of such appointment.”.
New section 6C
4.  The principal Ordinance is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 6B thereof the following new section: —
Exercise of option
6C.—(1)  Every contributor shall, at his option exerciseable as is provided in this section, be entitled to —
(a)cease to contribute and elect that his widow or his widow and children or his children, as the case may be, shall be entitled, on his death, to a pension, computed on the basis of the interest acquired by the contributor at the date of his ceasing to contribute in accordance with the Rules and Tables set out in the First Schedule to this Ordinance; or
(b)cease to contribute and elect that he be paid —
(i)a sum calculated in accordance with the Rules and Tables set out in the First Schedule to this Ordinance if, at the time of his election, he is a contributor with a wife or wife and children or children, as the case may be; or
(ii)a sum calculated in accordance with paragraph (a) of section 12 of this Ordinance if, at the time of his election, he is a bachelor; or
(iii)a sum calculated in accordance with the Rules and Tables set out in the First Schedule to this Ordinance and paragraph (b) of section 12 of this Ordinance if, at the time of his election, he is a widower without children:
Provided that the rights of every such contributor under this Ordinance shall cease; or
(c)elect to continue to contribute in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance.
(2)  The option shall be exerciseable by written notification to the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Finance before the expiration of six months from a date to be appointed by the Minister by an Order, published in the Gazette, and when so exercised shall be irrevocable.
(3)  For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, a contributor shall be deemed to include a person from whose salary or pension deductions have been made in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance, until he had attained the age of sixty-five years or had made contributions for thirty-five successive years.”.
Amendment of the First Schedule
5.  The First Schedule to the principal Ordinance is hereby amended —
(a)by adding the words “AND REPAYMENT TO CONTRIBUTORS WHO EXERCISE THEIR OPTION UNDER SECTION 6C OF THIS ORDINANCE” immediately after the word “OFFICERS” appearing in the heading of Part DD therein; and
(b)by deleting the first sentence of Rule X therein and substituting therefor the following: —
The sums referred to in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 6B and sub-paragraphs (i) and (iii) of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 6C of this Ordinance are calculated by subtracting from the officer’s prospective pension, calculated in accordance with the foregoing rules, the product of his annual contribution and Table B factor and multiplying the product by the Table C factor, both factors corresponding to the ages on the next birthday of the officer and his wife after the date of retirement or after the date of his exercising the option to cease to contribute under the provisions of section 6C of this Ordinance, as the case may be.”.