WIDOWS' AND ORPHANS' PENSION (AMENDMENT NO. 2) BILL

[Mr SPEAKER in the Chair]

Order for Second Reading read.

2.31 p.m.

The Chief Secretary (Mr E. B. David): Mr Speaker, Sir, I have His Excellency's consent to proceed with this Bill. I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, it has always been customary in the provisions of the Widows' and Orphans' Pension Ordinance to keep in line with the corresponding law in the Federation of Malaya, for the reason that a number of officers have at times served under both Governments and it has with some been largely a matter of chance to which scheme they have been required to contribute throughout their service. During the last few years there has been considerable consultation with the authorities in the Federation on the provisions of this Ordinance following an actuarial examination of the two schemes and the report of a Committee which was set up before the war. As a result of these consultations and subsequent discussions with the Staff Side of the Singapore Civil Service Joint Council, which have taken some time, the amendments now proposed in this Bill are introduced to accord with the amending legislation which has already been enacted in the Federation.

Clause 2 of this Bill seeks to regularise the position of officers on probation or agreement with prospects of permanency in a pensionable office between 11th December, 1950, and 1st January, 1955. Before the earlier date, only persons on the pensionable establishment were admitted into the scheme. With effect from that date, however, the Federation extended the application of their scheme to persons on probation or agreement with prospects of permanency. One of the aims of the Singapore Amendment Ordinance, 1952, was to keep the Singapore Ordinance in line with the Federation in this respect. This was not, however, achieved owing to the failure to provide that the new definition of "public servant" introduced by the 1952 amending Ordinance should have retrospective application to December 1950. Insertion of the words "on or after the 11th day of December, 1950", proposed in clause 2, will repair this omission.

In making provision in the 1952 amending Ordinance, for officers on probation or agreement to be required to contribute to this scheme, it was also provided that they could elect not to become, or to cease to be, contributors during the period of probation or agreement, within six months of the date of publication of the amending Ordinance. The Ordinance was published in October 1952 but it was unfortunately not brought into effect until 17th August, 1956, when it was brought into force retrospectively to 1st January, 1955, by which time the period of election had long expired. Officers on probation or agreement appointed between 1950 and August 1956 were thus denied the right to elect not to become or to cease to be contributors to the scheme, with the result that they are now regarded as contributors during the period of their probation or agreement and have been required by the Directors of the scheme to pay arrears of contribution. In order to afford them the opportunity for election which they have hitherto been denied, clause 3 seeks to provide for the necessary extension of the period of notice under subsection (1) of section 5 of the main Ordinance.

Clause 4 of the amending Bill deals with the refund of contributions to bachelors or widowers without dependent children. At present, when such officers retire, they cease to contribute and are paid a refund of only 50 per cent of the contributions made up to 31st December, 1954, and, by the amendment made in the 1952 Ordinance, the total contributions made between 1st January, 1955, and the date of retirement. Clause 4 seeks to provide for the full refund of all contributions made to bachelors or widowers without dependent children on their retirement, together with the payment of compound interest at the rate of 21 per cent. This will bring the Singapore legislation into line with the Federation Ordinance, and has been agreed with the Staff Side.

At the Committee stage I shall be moving an amendment to section 12 of the principal Ordinance to make provision in respect of bachelors and widowers without dependent children who are removed from the service.

Clause 5 of the Bill regularises the position of officers who are contributors to the United Kingdom Overseas Superannuation Scheme which was established on 1st January, 1955 and which is an approved scheme for the purposes of section 17 of the principal Ordinance. Under this clause, contributors to the superannuation scheme will be exempt from making contributions under the main Ordinance so long as they continue to contribute to the superannuation scheme. This amendment also will bring the Singapore Ordinance into line with the Federation Ordinance.

Clauses 6 and 7 make certain consequential amendments as a result of the amendment of the definition of pensionable age introduced by the amending Ordinance in 1952.

Clause 8 seeks to provide for benefits in certain circumstances to adopted children who have not previously been catered for.

Clause 9 clarifies the position in regard to certain officers on transfer from Palestine, who were permitted to make a lump-sum payment to the Singapore Widows' and Orphans' Pension Scheme at the time of their transfer equal to the accumulated contributions paid by the officer and by the Palestine Government under the Palestine Widows' and Pensions' Ordinance which was wound up in 1948.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. [Mr David].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr SPEAKER in the Chair]

2.39 p.m.

Clause 1-

Mr David: Sir, I move an amendment,

In page 1, line 6, to leave out "section 4" and insert "seetions 4 and 5".

The object of this amendment is to accord with the insertion of a new clause which I shall be moving at the appropriate time.

Amendment agreed to.

Further amendment made: In page 1, line 9, to leave out "Section 4" and insert "Sections 4 and 5".-.[Mr David].

Clause 1, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 2 to 7 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 8-

The Chairman: Mr Chief Secretary, in page 4, line 13, it occurs to me that the word "has" should be "had".

Mr David: I agree with you, Sir.

The Chairman: We will treat that as a typographical error and make the alteration.

Clause 8 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 9 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

New clause - "Amend- 5. Section 12 of the principal ment of Ordinance is hereby amended by section deleting paragraphs (a) and (b) 12. thereof and substituting therefor the following:- '(a) where such contributor is a bachelor, the total amount of his contributions under this Ordinance shall be re-paid to him together with compound interest thereon calculated with annual rests at the rate of two and one-half per centurn subject to the deduction of any sums due by him to the Government; and (b) where such contributor is a widower without children of a pensionable age, the total amount of the con-tributions which he has paid since the death of his last wife or the ceasing to be of a pensionable age of his last child, whichever event shall have last hap-pened, shall be repaid to him together with com-pound interest thereon cal-culated with annual rests at the rate of two and one-half per centum subject to the deduction of any sums due by him to the Govern-ment; and'." (Mr David).

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr David: Sir, I move, "That the clause be read a Second time."

The object of this new clause 5 is to bring section 12 of the principal Ordinance into line with the amendment to section 11. In section 11, the amendment provides that bachelors and widowers without dependent children shall draw their full contributions on death or retirement, but by an omission the same amendment was not inserted for section 12 which provides for officers who are removed from the service, and the object of this amendment is to provide for the same refund to bachelors and widowers without dependent children who are removed from the service.

Question put, and agreed to.

Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.

Bill reported, with amendments; read the Third time and passed.