Parliamentary Pensions (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 7/1995

Read the first time on 1st March 1995.

An Act to amend the Parliamentary Pensions Act (Chapter 219 of the 1985 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Parliamentary Pensions (Amendment) Act 1995 and shall be deemed to have come into operation on 1st January 1995.

Amendment of section 2

2. Section 2 of the Parliamentary Pensions Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately before the definition of “Member”, the following definitions:

“ “elected Member”, “non-constituency Member” and “nominated Member” shall have the same meanings as in Article 39(1)(a), (b) and (c), respectively, of the Constitution;

“future Member” means a person —

(a)

who becomes, by election or appointment, a Member at any time after 1st January 1995 without previously having been, before or after that date, a Member or an office-holding Member;

(b)

who, having been a Member before 1st January 1995 but not being a Member on that date, becomes, by election or appointment, a Member at any time after 1st January 1995; or

(c)

who, being an elected Member on 1st January 1995, becomes —

(i)	a non-constituency Member or nominated Member at any time after 1st January 1995 with or without a break in his service as a Member; or
(ii)	an elected Member at any time after 1st January 1995 with a break in his service as a Member after that date,

and for the purposes of paragraph (c) of this definition, a Member’s service shall be deemed not broken but continuous if, following the dissolution of Parliament or his seat therein becoming vacant under the provisions of the Constitution, he is elected as a Member at the ensuing general election or the ensuing by-election to fill that vacancy;”; and

(b)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “office-holding Member”, the following definition:

“ “prescribed commutation factor” and “prescribed discount rate” mean, respectively, such factor and rate as the President shall prescribe for the purposes of this Act;”.

New section 2A

3. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the title to Part III, the following section:

“Future and Nominated Members’ eligibility for a pension

2A.—(1) Unless otherwise expressly provided, a future Member shall not be eligible for any pension or gratuity under the provisions of this Act in respect of his reckonable service as a future Member, including any period which may be counted as such service by virtue of section 6.

(2) For the avoidance of doubt —

(a)	a future Member who holds any office shall remain eligible for a pension under the provisions of this Act in respect of his reckonable service in that office; and
(b)	a person who, on the date immediately before he becomes a future Member, has the minimum period of reckonable service as a Member to be eligible for a pension under section 3 (including any period of reckonable service which may be counted by virtue of section 6), shall remain eligible for a pension under the provisions of this Act in respect of his reckonable service as a Member as of that date.

(3) Any person who on 1st January 1995 is a nominated Member shall not be eligible for a pension under the provisions of this Act in respect of his service as a Member on or after that date.”.

Amendment of section 6

4. Section 6(1) of the principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the word “Member” in the first line, the words “(other than a future Member)”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 7

5. Section 7 of the principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor:

“Commutation of pensions

7.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person to whom a pension is granted under this Act may, at his option exercisable in accordance with this section, be paid —

(a)

in the case of a future Member who becomes an office-holding Member —

(i)	a full pension under section 4 without any gratuity; or
(ii)	a commuted pension gratuity without any pension,

in respect of his reckonable service as a holder of any office;

(b)

in the case of a future Member who remains eligible for a pension under section 2A(2)(b), or a Member (including an office-holding Member) who is not a future Member —

(i)	a full pension under section 3 or 4 without any gratuity;
(ii)	a reduced pension at the rate of two-thirds (²/₃) of the full pension together with a gratuity equal to twelve and one-half (12¹/₂) times the annual value of one-third (¹/₃) of the full pension; or
(iii)	a commuted pension gratuity without any pension,

in respect of his reckonable service as a Member (other than as a future Member) or as a holder of any office, as the case may be; or

(c)

in the case of a person who has been granted a pension under section 4 after ceasing to hold office and who becomes an office-holding Member again —

(i)	a full pension under section 4 without any gratuity, or
(ii)	a commuted pension gratuity without any pension,

in respect of his further service as an office-holding Member.

(2) The option referred to in subsection (1) shall be exercisable —

(a)	separately in respect of reckonable service as a Member and as a holder of any office; and
(b)	not later than 30 days after the date when the person becomes eligible for the grant of a pension under this Act, except that if the person has not exercised an option within such time, the President may, if it appears in the circumstances equitable to do so, allow the person to exercise the option at any time prior to the date of payment of a pension or gratuity to him,

and where a person fails to exercise the option in accordance with this section, he shall be deemed to have opted to receive a commuted pension gratuity without any pension in respect of his reckonable service as a Member or as a holder of an office or both, as the case may be.

(3) Such option, once exercised by a person in respect of his reckonable service as a Member or as a holder of any office, as the case may be, shall not be revoked so far as concerns any pension or gratuity so granted to him under this Act in respect of such period of service prior to the exercise of the option.

(4) Subject to this section, the commuted pension gratuity referred to in subsection (1) shall be a capital sum ascertained by multiplying the prescribed commutation factor by the amount of such pension that the person concerned is eligible for under this Act.

(5) Where any pension granted to a person under this Act is required to be recomputed by adding his further service as a Member or holder of any office to any period of reckonable service previously used in computing his pension, the commuted pension gratuity shall be reduced by such amount of pension or gratuity already received by him in respect of the period of reckonable service previously used in computing his pension.

(6) Any commuted pension gratuity to be granted to a person shall be computed in accordance with the provisions of this Act in force at the date whenever the person becomes eligible for the grant of a pension under this Act, and shall be paid in the prescribed manner.

(7) This section shall not apply to any person who before 1st January 1995 has been granted and paid a pension or gratuity under the provisions of this Act as in force before that date, except that where the person is, on that date, an office-holding Member who —

(a)	has already been granted a pension in respect of any period of his reckonable service in an office; and
(b)	on his ceasing to hold office, will be eligible to have his pension recomputed with the addition of his further period of reckonable service as an office-holding Member,

this section shall remain applicable to such person but only in respect of that further period of reckonable service as an office-holding Member.”.

Amendment of section 9

6. Section 9 of the principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after subsection (3), the following subsection:

“(4) A person to whom a pension may be granted under this section may, at his option, be paid in lieu of that pension a commuted pension gratuity which shall be ascertained by multiplying the prescribed commutation factor by the amount of such pension that may be granted to him in accordance with this section.”.

Amendment of section 10

7. Section 10 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “or within one year after he was granted a pension under section 3 or 4” in the second and third lines of subsection (1) and substituting the words “or a Member, having opted under section 7 to receive a full pension without any gratuity, dies within one year of his pension taking effect”;

(b)

by deleting the words “section 7” in subsections (2), (3) and (4) and substituting in each case the words “section 7(4) (as modified by this section)”;

(c)

by deleting subsection (5) and substituting the following subsections:

“(5) In the case of a future Member, the gratuity shall be —

(a)	where the Member never held any office — an amount equal to either his annual salary as defined in section 3(4) less the amount specified in subsection (5A) or the commuted pension gratuity which might have been granted to him under section 7(4) (as modified by this section) in respect of his reckonable service as a Member before he became a future Member, whichever is the greater;
(b)	where the Member had previously held office but was not holding office at the time of his death — an amount equal to either his annual salary as defined in section 3(4) less the amount specified in subsection (5A) or the commuted pension gratuity which might have been granted to him under section 7(4) (as modified by this section) in respect of both his reckonable service as a Member before he became a future Member and as a holder of any office, whichever is the greater; or
(c)	where the Member held office at the time of his death — an amount equal to either his annual salary as defined in section 4(4) or the commuted pension gratuity which might have been granted to him under section 7(4) (as modified by this section) in respect of both his reckonable service as a Member before he became a future Member and as a holder of any office, whichever is the greater,

less any sums already received by him by way of pension or gratuity under this Act during his lifetime.

(5A) The annual salary referred to in subsection (5)(a) or (b) shall be reduced by an amount which shall be the difference between the total amount paid by the Government to the Central Provident Fund on account of the person with respect to his period of reckonable service as a future Member, and the total amount payable by the Government to that Fund on account of the person with respect to that same period of service if the person had been eligible for a pension under this Act.

(5B) Any reference in subsection (5A) to the total amount paid or payable by the Government to the Central Provident Fund in respect of any person shall not include reference to any amount thereof which is recoverable from the person’s salary pursuant to the Central Provident Fund Act [Cap. 36] or any regulations made thereunder.

(5C) For the purposes of this section, in determining the commuted pension gratuity which might have been granted to a Member under section 7(4) —

(a)	he shall be deemed to be eligible for the grant of a pension under section 3 or 4 notwithstanding the fact that he has less than the minimum number of years of reckonable service as required by those sections or the fact that he had not attained the age of 50 years; and
(b)	in the case of a Member who dies before attaining the age of 50 years, the commuted pension gratuity ascertained in accordance with section 7(4) and this section shall be discounted at the prescribed discount rate in respect of each year or part thereof falling between the date he would have attained the age of 50 years had he not died and the date of his death (both dates inclusive).”.

Amendment of section 11

8. Section 11 of the principal Act is amended by deleting subsections (2) and (3) and substituting the following subsections:

“(2) If a person to whom this section applies dies before attaining the age of 50 years, there may be paid to such of his dependants as the President may think fit or, if there are no dependants, to his legal personal representatives a gratuity as follows:

(a)

the commuted pension gratuity that might have been granted to the person under section 7(4) on his attaining the age of 50 years had he not died, from which gratuity there shall be a discount at the prescribed discount rate in respect of each year or part thereof falling between the date he would have attained the age of 50 years had he not died and the date of his death (both dates inclusive); or

(b)

an amount equal to his annual salary as defined in section 3(4),

whichever is the greater.

(3) If the President is satisfied that any person to whom this section applies is physically or mentally incapacitated so as to be unable to continue in any employment before he has attained the age of 50 years, the person may, at his option, be granted either of the following with effect from the date he so satisfies the President that he is so physically or mentally incapacitated, notwithstanding the fact that he has not attained the age of 50 years:

(a)	a full pension under section 3 or 4 without any gratuity; or
(b)	the commuted pension gratuity that might have been granted to the person under section 7(4) on his attaining the age of 50 years.”.

Amendment of section 17

9. Section 17 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately after subsection (1), the following subsections:

“(2) The President may, in making regulations under this section, provide for any Member or class of Members to opt to be superannuated according to 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.

(3) Any Member who exercises an option in accordance with the regulations made under subsection (2) in respect of any period of his reckonable service as a Member shall be deemed to have become a future Member on the commencement of that period of service.”; and

(b)

by renumbering the existing subsection (2) as subsection (4).

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