Parliamentary Pensions Bill

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Member” means a Member of Parliament;

“office” means the office of Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Speaker, Senior Minister, Minister, Senior Minister of State, Minister of State, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Parliamentary Secretary or Political Secretary;

“office-holding Member” means a Member who holds or has held any office and includes a Speaker who is not an elected Member of Parliament;

“reckonable service”, in relation to service as a Member, means service on and after the 3rd day of June 1959, in Parliament as a Member of Parliament; and in relation to service in any office, means service on and after the 3rd day of June 1959, in that office.

Where a Speaker is not, or has not been, an elected Member of Parliament for any period, the expression “salary” shall, for such period, mean the salary payable to him in respect of his service as Speaker.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where for any period a person who is eligible for any pension or other benefit under this Act voluntarily refrains from receiving the whole or any part of any salary due to him in respect of the office held by him, then, in calculating his pension or benefit he shall, for such period, be deemed to have received the full salary to which he was entitled as holder of that office.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where for any period a person, who is eligible for any pension or other benefit under this Act, is paid a salary which is less than the full salary of the office held by him by reason of the fact that his services in that office are performed on a part-time basis, then, in calculating his pension or benefit he shall, for such period, be deemed not to have received the full salary of that office but the actual amount of salary that he was paid.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person who, after the commencement of this Act, ceases at any time to be a Member may be granted a pension under this section if he has not less than nine years’ reckonable service as a Member (whether continuously or not) and has attained the age of fifty years.

The annual amount of pension payable to a Member shall be —

Subject to sections 10 and 12, a pension under this section shall continue for the life of the person to whom it is payable but shall not be payable in respect of any period during which he is again a Member or is a candidate for election to Parliament; at the end of that period the pension shall again be payable and shall be recomputed under subsection (2) with the addition of any further period of reckonable service to the period of his former reckonable service as a Member.

For the purposes of subsection (2), “annual salary” means the annual equivalent of the highest monthly rate of salary (excluding any non-pensionable allowances) received by a Member during any period of his service as a Member.

For the purposes of subsection (3), a person who ceases to be a Member in consequence of the dissolution of Parliament shall be treated as a candidate for election from the date of such dissolution if he seeks re-election at the next general election.

Subject to the provisons of this Act, a person may be granted a pension under this section, in addition to any pension that may be granted to him under section 3, in respect of his reckonable service in any office if, after the commencement of this Act, he ceases at any time to hold office and has —

The annual amount of pension payable to an office-holding Member shall be —

Subject to sections 10 and 12, a pension granted under this section shall continue for the life of the person to whom it is payable but shall not be payable in respect of any period during which he is again an office-holding Member; at the end of that period the pension shall again be payable and shall be recomputed with the addition of that period to the period of his former reckonable service as an office-holding Member.

For the purposes of subsection (2), “annual salary”, in relation to any office, means the annual equivalent of the highest monthly rate of salary (excluding any non-pensionable allowances) received by an office-holding Member during any period of reckonable service as a holder of that office.

This section shall apply to a Member who has served as an office-holding Member for any period which is less than the minimum period of reckonable service specified in section 4 to be eligible for a pension under that section.

The period of service of a Member to whom this section applies shall, for the purposes of determining his eligibility and of computing the amount of the pension payable to him under subsections (1) and (2) of section 3, be deemed to be increased by such period as may be determined in accordance with the following provisions: —

Any person to whom a pension is granted under this Act may, at his option exercisable not later than thirty days after the date when he becomes eligible for the grant of such pension, be paid in lieu of the full pension so granted, 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 (12 1/2) times the annual value of one-third (1/3) of the full pension.

The option for either a full pension or for a reduced pension with commuted pension gratuity as provided for in subsection (1), once exercised, shall not be revoked.

Where a person to whom subsection (1) applies fails to exercise the option within the period specified in the said subsection, the President shall have the power to grant a commuted pension gratuity as provided for in that subsection as if that person had exercised the option within the period mentioned therein.

Where after the commencement of this Act a Member dies while serving as a Member or within one year after he was granted a pension under section 3 or 4 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 in accordance with this section.

In the case of a Member who had never held any office the gratuity shall be an amount equal either to his annual salary as defined in subsection (4) of section 3 or the commuted pension gratuity which might have been granted to him under section 6, whichever is the greater, less any sums already received by him by way of pension and gratuity under this Act during his lifetime.

In the case of a Member who had previously held office but was not holding office at the time of his death, the gratuity shall be an amount equal either to his annual salary as defined in subsection (4) of section 3 or the commuted pension gratuity which might have been granted to him under section 6 in respect of both his reckonable service as a Member and as a holder of any office, whichever is the greater, less any sums already received by him by way of pension and gratuity under this Act during his lifetime.

In the case of a Member holding office at the time of his death, the gratuity shall be an amount equal either to the aggregate of his annual salary as defined in subsection (4) of section 3 and subsection (4) of section 4 or the commuted pension gratuity which might have been granted to him under section 6 in respect of both his reckonable service as a Member and as a holder of any office, whichever is the greater, less any sums already received by him by way of pension and gratuity under this Act during his lifetime.

In determining the commuted pension gratuity which might have been granted to a Member for the purposes of this section, 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 in those sections or that he has not attained the age of fifty years.

No gratuity paid under this section shall be subject to estate duty under the Estate Duty Act (Cap. 137).

No person shall have an absolute right to compensation for past services or to any pension or gratuity under this Act.

It shall be lawful for the President to reduce or altogether to withhold any pension or gratuity which has been granted to a person under this Act, or for which he has become eligible, where such person has been convicted by any court of an offence (even if only a fine and no term of imprisonment has been imposed) —

The President shall, before exercising any power conferred on him by subsection (2), consider the record of the proceedings of the court.

No pension or gratuity which would under this Act be granted to a person shall be so granted if, at the date he became eligible for the grant of such pension, he has been adjudged a bankrupt or declared insolvent by judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in Singapore or elsewhere and has not obtained his discharge from such adjudication or declaration.

If any person to whom a pension has been granted under this Act is adjudged a bankrupt or is declared insolvent by judgment of any such court, then such pension shall forthwith cease.

Where a pension or gratuity ceases or is not granted by virtue of this section, it shall be lawful for the President, from time to time, during the remainder of the life of the person whose pension has ceased or who would have been eligible to receive the pension, or during such shorter period or periods, either continuously or otherwise, as the President thinks fit, to direct all or any part of the moneys to which such person would have been eligible to receive by way of pension or gratuity, had he not become a bankrupt or insolvent, to be paid to or applied for the maintenance and benefit of all or any (to the exclusion of others) of the following, namely, such person himself and his wife, child or children, or other dependants 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 person whose pension has ceased or not been granted shall, for the purposes of subsection (3), be regarded as applied for his benefit.

When a person to whom a pension or gratuity has not been granted, or whose pension has ceased under the provisions of this section, obtains a full and proper discharge from his bankruptcy or insolvency, his pension or gratuity or both, as the case may be, shall be restored to him with effect from the date of the discharge.

The President may make regulations for, or in respect of, all matters which he considers necessary or expedient for carrying out or giving effect to the purposes and provisions of this Act.

All regulations made under this Act shall be presented to Parliament as soon as may be after publication.

The Parliamentary Pensions Act (Cap. 51) (hereinafter referred to as “the former Act”) is hereby repealed.

Notwithstanding such repeal, the provisions of the former Act shall be construed and shall have effect as if it had not been repealed by this Act in the case of any person who —

The provisions of this Act shall not apply to —