RETIRING CIVIL SERVANTS (Continuation of service to year-end for Annual Wage Supplement)

Mr Eric Cheong Yuen Chee asked the Minister for Finance whether he will consider allowing civil servants, who reach retirement age during the course of a year and whose services are not extended, to continue in service till 31st December of that year to enable them to become eligible to receive the Annual Wage Supplement.

Mr Hon Sui Sen: Mr Speaker, Sir, an officer's employment is extended beyond his retirement age if his services are needed. The extension is normally for five years. Permanent Secretaries and heads of departments may, however, extend the services of an officer for shorter periods. To extend the services to 31st December of the year of retirement merely to enable officers to qualify for the annual wage supplement is not to be encouraged. I cannot be expected to support it.

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam (Anson): Sir, would the Hon. Minister explain why it is necessary for an officer, whose retirement age is reached sometime during the year but whose birth date is not known, to be retired on the 30th of December and not on 31st of December? Is that just to exclude the payment of the annual wage supplement?

Mr Hon Sui Sen: Sir, this practice arose before our annual wage supplement was implemented. It is not a practice which is intended to deprive the officer of his non-pensionable annual wage supplement. If the birth date is uncertain, it would be possible, for the Government to assume that it could be the earliest day of the year which would be 1st January, in which case of course the officer would have even less service. I suppose that is one other method by which we could resolve the question of the uncertainty. We take 30th December because that is presumably the longest service in the year.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Would the Hon. Minister agree that if he took the 31st of December, that would be the longest period, not the 30th of December?

Mr Hon Sui Sen: Sir, I have no information at present as to this particular practice but I will inquire into the reasons which have made 30th December the date rather than the 31st December or 1st January. And if the Member likes, I will send him a written explanation of the reasons forth is.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Thank you.

Mr Ho See Beng (Khe Bong): Sir, if the officer's services cannot be extended to the 31st December, will the Minister agree to the payment being pro-rated?

Mr Hon Sui Sen: Sir, we have gone into this particular question many times before and I see no particular advantage in going over the same ground again.