KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Dec 2008: The Dewan Rakyat today passed four amendment bills involving new policies on pensions for public servants.
They were the Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2008, Statutory and Local Authorities Pensions (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2008, Pensions Adjustment (Amendment) Bill 2008 and Judges’ Remuneration (Amendment)(No.2) Bill 2008.
The Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2008 seeks to amend the Pensions Act 1980 to, among other things, enable officers who had opted for the Employees Provident Fund Scheme to opt for pension, gratuity or other benefit from 1 Feb 2009.
The Statutory and Local Authorities Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2008 seeks to amend the Statutory and Local Authorities Pensions Act 1980 in order to provide for a new compulsory age of retirement of 58 years for employees on full time employment in the service of the statutory or local authorities.
The Pensions Adjustment (Amendment) Bill 2008 seeks to amend the Pensions Adjustment Act 1980 to provide for the abolishment of requirement of residency in Malaysia for the grant or adjustment of pension, derivative pension, retiring allowance or derivative retiring allowance.
It also seeks the increase of reckonable service from 25 years to 30 years, and the abolishment of reduction of derivative pension or derivative retiring allowance to 70 per cent after the period of 12-1/2 years from the date of retirement of an officer or the date immediately following the date of death in service of an officer, all for the improvement of pension benefits for officers.
The Judges’ Remuneration (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2008 seeks to amend the Judges’ Remuneration Act 1971 to provide for the abolishment of requirement of residency in Malaysia for the grant of derivative pension and the adjustment of pension.
It also seeks the abolishment of reduction of derivative pension to 70% after the period of 12-1/2 years from the date of retirement of a judge or immediately following the date of death in service of a judge. — Bernama
