Court Ruling On Pensions Doesn T Apply To Us Says Veteran Group

---

 
A veterans group says the laws that govern pensions payable to retired members of the armed forces are different from those for the civil service. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: A veterans group has demanded a full pension adjustment based on a 2013 pay review, saying recent court rulings on civil service pensions do not apply to retired members of the armed forces.
The veterans group, Suara Patriotik Rakyat Malaysia, said the government should make backdated payments to all eligible.
The SPRM president, retired major Mior Rosli Mior Jaafar, questioned a statement by the public services department that it would soon discuss rectifying differing pension amounts in line with recent court rulings.
Rosli said the law excludes retired servicemen from the remedies other civil servants are set to enjoy.
Last month, the Federal Court nullified amendments passed by Parliament in 2013 that introduced a new scheme for pension increments and set a fixed rate of 2% annually. However, pensioners who retired before 2013 were bound to the previous system of adjusting benefits according to civil service salary.
Mior said military pensioners are not governed by the Pensions Adjustment Act 1980, and that the Federal Court decision would not directly bridge the pension gaps between older and more recent retirees.
He called for amendments to the laws specifically governing military pensions, namely parts of the Federal Constitution and the Armed Forces Act.
“We demand a full pension adjustment in line with the pay review made in 2013, and for pay to be backdated to all veterans,” he said.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the government had decided that pensions and derivative pensions for July to December 2023 would be paid based on what their pension would have been prior to the amendment.
He said pension payments for public officials who retired before 2013 were returned to the December 2012 amount, while for those who retired from 2013, their pension payments were returned to the original amount upon retirement. - FMT

---