WIDOWS’ AND ORPHANS’ PENSION FUND

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Widows’ and Orphans’ Pension Fund Ordinance.

2.The following words and expressions when used in this Ordinance shall have the meanings hereby assigned to them, unless there is something in the subject or context repugnant to such construction :-

” appointed date ” shall mean the date* prescribed by the Governor to be the appointed date for the purpose of this Ordinance by Proclamation published in the Gazette, the power to prescribe such date being deemed to include the power to prescribe, if necessary, a date prior to the date of publication of the Proclamation;

” directors” shall mean the directors appointed under section 5 of this Ordinance;

” maximum period of contribution “, with reference to any contributor, shall mean the period commencing on the date on which he becomes a contributor and ending either on the date on which he completes thirty-five continuous years as such contributor or on the date on which while still a contributor he completes sixty-five years of age, whichever is the earlier;

” public officer ” shall mean and include-

” repayable contributions “, with reference to a widower without pensionable children, shall mean the contributions which he has made under this Ordinance since the date when his wife or the last of his wives died, or the date when his child or the youngest of his children ceased to be pensionable, whichever is the later date;

“salary” shall mean the remuneration paid to an officer in respect of any permanent office held by him in the service of Ceylon in respect of which office he may become entitled, under any regulations which are now or which may hereafter be in force, to a pension, but shall not include any fees accruing to any officer in respect of such office.

3. There shall be carried to the fund created under Ordinances Nos. 20 of 1885*[Repealed by Ordinance No. 21 of 1896]. and 21 of 1896,[Repealed by Ordinance No. 1 of 1898]. and which shall continue to be styled “The Widows’ and Orphans’ Pension Fund ” (hereinafter referred to as ” the fund “), such sums as are hereinafter required to be contributed thereto, and such fund, together with the accretions of interest thereto, shall be applicable to the payment of the expenses of management thereof as hereinafter provided, and of pensions to the widows and orphans now chargeable to the same under and subject to the provisions of any repealed enactments, and to the widows and orphans of the public officers now or hereafter contributing to the same under and subject to the provisions hereinafter contained.

4.

5.

6. The Deputy Secretary to the Treasury[1] shall, from time to time, pay the directors from and out of the fund such sums of money as may be necessary to defray all expenses connected with the management and administration of the fund :

Provided that no payment shall be made to any director as salary or remuneration for his own services without the consent and approval of theGovernor-General[3].

7. The directors shall frame rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance for the proper carrying out of the provisions thereof, and such rules and regulations when approved by the Secretary to the Treasury[1], and published in the Gazette, shall be valid and binding upon all persons.

8.

9. The abatement of four per centum from the salary of a public officer shall continue to be made until such officer attains the age of sixty-five years, should he continue so long in the public service, at which date it shall cease; such abatement shall also cease after an officer has been subject to the abatement for thirty-five successive years.

10. A public officer who from any cause whatever ceases to belong to the public service and retires on a pension shall not be called upon to make any further contribution to the fund beyond a monthly abatement from his pension of four per centum on such pension, to commence from the date of his retirement until he attains sixty-five years of age or has been subject to abatement for thirty-five years, when such abatement shall cease.

11. Whenever the salary of a public officer becomes reduced by abatement of the ordinary emoluments or by retirement on pension, such public officer may elect to continue to contribute upon the higher salary which he was receiving previous to such reduction, and subject to the same terms and conditions as if he had continued to draw the higher salary. Should such public officer not elect so to continue to contribute upon the higher salary, and contribute on the lower salary or pension, any pension to his widow or children shall be diminished in the same amount as it would have been increased had such public officer’s salary been increased and not diminished.

12. A public officer who under section 11 of this Ordinance elects to contribute upon his higher salary must make his election within six months of the date when his right to do so matured, and any such election shall be final.

13. Where, on any date, a public officer who is not a bachelor retires from or otherwise leaves the public service without a pension, or a public officer, whether he is or is not a bachelor, is removed from the office in respect of which he was contributing to the fund and is appointed to a non- pensionable office on a monthly or yearly rate of salary or on a salary or wage calculated at a daily rate, such public officer may, within six months after such date or within any further time which the directors may in special circumstances grant, elect to contribute monthly the same amount as he last contributed before such date, and, if he so elects, he shall continue so to contribute subject to the same terms and conditions as applied to him at such date. In the event of his ceasing to contribute, or in the event of any contributions due from him not having been paid for six months, his widow or his widow and orphans, as the case may be, shall be entitled upon the death of such public officer only to a pension computed on the basis of the interest acquired by such contributor in the fund at such date or at the date of his ceasing to contribute, in accordance with the tables hereinafter referred to.

14. Where a person who is eligible to exercise a right of election under section 11 or section 13 is unable so to do within the period specified in the Ordinance for the exercise of such right by reason of such person being of unsound mind, the directors may appoint a person, who in their opinion is a fit and proper person, to exercise such right on his behalf within such period or within such further time as may be given in that behalf by the directors.

15. A public officer other than a bachelor who has been transferred prior to the passing of this Ordinance, or who may be hereafter transferred from the service of this Government to any other office under the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, may continue to contribute to the fund from the date of his ceasing to hold office in the service of this Government on the salary which he was receiving at the date of such transfer, at the same rate and subject to the same terms as if he had continued in the service of this Government and continued to receive the salary which he was receiving at the date of such transfer. In the event of his ceasing to contribute, or in the event of any contribution due from him not having been paid for six months, his widow or his widow and orphans, as the case may be, shall be entitled after the death of such public officer only to a pension computed on the basis of the interest acquired by such contributor to the fund at the date of his being transferred or of his ceasing to contribute, in accordance with the tables hereinafter referred to;

Provided, however, that where such officer is so transferred on or after the appointed date, he shall not be entitled to continue to contribute to the fund in accordance with the preceding provisions of this section, unless, within six months after the date on which he is so transferred or within any further time which the directors may in special circumstances grant, he elects so to continue to contribute.

16. Every contribution under section 13 or section 15 shall be paid before the fifteenth day of the month next succeeding the month in respect of which such contribution is due. Where such contribution is not paid before that day, it shall be deemed to be in arrear. All arrears of such contributions shall be paid or recovered together with compound interest at six per centum, or, after the appointed date, at four per centum per annum.

17.

18. The application of this Ordinance to a public officer having two or more wives shall be subject to the following provisions:-

19. The provisions of sections 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 (1), relating to declarations and notifications to be transmitted to the directors, shall, in the case of a public officer having two or more wives, apply in all respects to each marriage of that public officer and to the wife and to each child of that marriage, whether that marriage is or is not a valid marriage for the purposes of this Ordinance.

20. Where the marriage of a contributor, other than a contributor having two or more wives, is dissolved by a divorce, he shall, for the purposes of this Ordinance, be deemed to have become a widower.

21. Every public officer shall, within three months of the date of his becoming liable to contribute to the fund, forward to the directors a declaration setting forth the date of his becoming so liable, his own name in full and the date of his birth, and if he be married the date of his marriage and the maiden name in full and the date of birth of his wife, and if he have any child or children their names in full and the date of each of their births.

22. Every public officer who shall marry after the passing of this Ordinance shall, within three months of his marriage, forward to the directors a declaration setting forth the date of such marriage and the maiden name of his wife and the date of her birth, and if there be any children by him born to his wife prior to his marriage he shall make a declaration setting forth the names and date of birth of each of such children.

23. Every public officer shall, within three months, notify to the directors the date of the birth of each child born to him after the passing of this Ordinance.

24. Every public officer whose wife shall die or be divorced from him, or whose child, die, or whose female child shall be married, an4 the guardian of every child who shall , die or of every female child who shall be married, shall, within three months thereof, notify to the directors the date of such death, divorce or marriage.

25.

26. Every public officer who shall in the judgment of the directors have failed, omitted, or refused to perform any duty cast upon him, or to do any act required of him by this Ordinance or by the rules and regulations made as herein provided, or who shall in the judgment of the directors have furnished any false information or made any false declaration, may be adjudged by the directors to pay for each such omission, default, refusal, false information, or declaration a penalty not exceeding fifty rupees. The Deputy Secretary to the Treasury[1] shall, upon the Judgment of the directors being notified to him, deduct such penalty from the first moneys payable to the public officer as salary or otherwise, and shall pay such amount to the credit of the fund.

27. The widows and orphans entitled to pensions from the fund are the widows and orphans of public officers who have contributed to the fund in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance or Ordinances Nos. 20 of 1885*[* Repealed by Ordinance Nos. 21 of 1896] and 21 of 1896[Repealed by Ordinance Nos. 21 of 1896], save as hereinafter excepted. No pension shall become due, and no pension shall be paid to any widow or orphan of any public officer, until every debt due to the fund by such public officer shall have been fully discharged:

28. No widow of a public officer who dies within one year from the date of his marriage shall be entitled to a pension under this Ordinance unless a lawful child is born of such marriage. The child of any public officer born out of wedlock who has become legitimate by the subsequent marriage of such public officer with the mother of such child while such public officer is contributing to the fund, shall be entitled to a pension or allowance from the fund, unless his father shall have died within twelve months of such marriage, in which case such child shall lose all interest in the fund:

Provided that it shall be lawful for the directors, with the consent of the Secretary to the Ministry charged with the subject of Public Administration, to award a pension to such widow or child if it shall appear to them just and reasonable.

29. The allowance or pension to orphans shall cease in the case of males at the age of eighteen years, and in the case of females on marriage or at the age of twenty-one years:

Provided, however, that in the case of a male orphan whose father is a public officer appointed after the 14th day of March, 1906, and who attains the age of eighteen years on or after the appointed date, the allowance or pension shall cease at the age of twenty-one years.

30. The pension or allowance to which a widow or child of a deceased public officer is entitled shall be computed according to tables to be approved of by the President. Such tables shall be adjusted and revised by an actuary or actuaries who shall be, from time to time, appointed by the President. All pensions to widows or children, whether in possession or in expectation and reversion, shall be subject to readjustment, and shall be computed upon the tables so adjusted and revised, and diminished or increased accordingly.

31 The actuarial valuations of the fund contemplated in section 30 of this Ordinance shall be made triennially up to and including the 31st day of December, 1933, and thereafter at such times as the President may determine.

32. Such percentages as the President t may, on the recommendation of the directors, from time to time, appoint of such surpluses as may be disclosed by the periodical actuarial valuations provided for by section 31 of this Ordinance of the assets and liabilities of the fund, including the valuation of such assets and liabilities as on the 31st day of March, 1909, shall be applied in increasing the prospective pensions of the widows and orphans of the contributors to the fund at the date of each such valuation, and of former contributors who had ceased to contribute on attaining the age of sixty-five years or on leaving the service, and of all those who may be pensioners at the date of each such valuation, in such shares and proportions and in such manner as the Governor-General as advised by the directors, with the approval of a Secretary of the State,[3] may direct.

The preceding provisions of this section shall have no application in respect of any surplus which may be disclosed by any such valuation of such assets and liabilities as on any day after the 31st day of December, 1930; but every active or prospective pension which in accordance with those provisions has been increased in consequence of any surplus disclosed by any such valuation of such assets and liabilities as on any date prior to the 1st day of January, 1931, shall continue to be payable as so increased, notwithstanding any deficiency which may be disclosed at any such valuation subsequently made.

33. When a public officer being a widower and unmarried shall die or have died leaving a child or children entitled to pensions, or when a widow of a public officer shall die or have died and there be a child or children of such public officer surviving entitled to pension, the pensions of such child or children shall be the amount which the widow would have received or had been receiving, equally divided among the children.

34. The widow of a public officer who Provision in marries again shall cease to receive a pension from the date of such marriage; and the children of such widow and public officer shall thereupon, and in the case of the widow of a public officer who has married again and has ceased to receive a pension from the date of such marriage the children of such widow and public officer shall, from and after the coming into operation of this Ordinance, be entitled to pension as hereinbefore provided in the event of the death of both parents.

35. When a public officer dies leaving a widow and children the issue of a previous marriage existing when he became a contributor to the fund, or contracted after he became such contributor, and such children are of ages which entitled them to pensions from the fund, such children shall be entitled each of them to an equal share or portion of the half of the pension to which their mother, if she had survived their father, would have been entitled. The widow of such public officer shall be entitled to one-half of the pension to which she would have been entitled had there been no such children; and if the public officer dies leaving no such children, or when they cease to be entitled to pension, then she shall be entitled to the whole of such pension as she would have received had there been no such children. Should the widow die leaving no issue of her marriage with the public officer, the children of the first marriage shall be entitled to such pensions as if the public officer had not contracted such subsequent marriage. Should the widow die leaving children the issue of her marriage with the public officer, such children shall be entitled each to an equal share or portion of the pension to which their mother was entitled.

36. The children of a widower who shall become or has become a contributor to the fund shall be entitled on his death, and the children of a widower who has contributed to the fund and has died prior to the coming into operation of this Ordinance shall be entitled from and after the coming into operation of this Ordinance, to the pension to which they would have been entitled if their mother had been living at the time of his becoming liable to contribute thereto.

37. The pension payable to any person entitled thereto under this Ordinance shall begin upon the death of the public officer or of his widow, as the case may be, and shall accrue daily and shall be paid monthly. But before any such payment it shall be lawful for the directors to require proof that any widow or child is alive and entitled to the pension claimed by such widow or child.

38. A pension payable under this Ordinance to a widow may be paid by the directors to a fit and proper person on behalf of the widow. Where the pension is so paid, the person receiving the pension shall apply it, in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be determined by the directors, for the maintenance, support^ or benefit of the widow and her child or children, if any, who would be entitled on her death to receive a pension under this Ordinance.

39. Where the directors are satisfied that a widow who is in receipt of a pension under this Ordinance has deserted or abandoned, or is failing to maintain or assist, so far as her means allow, a child who would be entitled on her death to receive a pension under this Ordinance, the directors may, in their absolute discretion, pay to such child, or to a fit and proper person on behalf of such child, such portion of the widow’s pension as they may think fit, and the widow shall have no further claim in respect of any portion of her pension so paid. Any portion of a widow’s pension paid under this section to any person on behalf of a child of the widow shall be applied by that person, in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be determined by the directors, for the maintenance, support, or benefit of such child.

40. A pension payable under this Ordinance to a minor may be paid by the directors either directly to the minor or to such holder of a designated office or such other person as may be appointed, in writing signed by not less than three of the directors, to receive the pension on behalf of the minor. Where the pension is paid to any person so appointed, he shall apply the pension for the maintenance, support, or benefit of the minor in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be determined by the directors.

41. No pension payable from the fund shall be assigned or transferred, and every assignment or transfer shall be absolutely null and void and of no effect. No such pension shall be attached or levied upon or arrested or taken in execution on account of any debt or payment due by the person to whom such pension is payable.

42. Should any question arise as to whether any person is a public officer within the meaning of this Ordinance, or as to whether any person is entitled to any pension as the widow or child of a public officer, or as to the amount of pension to which any widow or child shall be entitled, or as to the meaning or construction to be assigned to any section of this Ordinance, or to any rule or regulation made under the provisions thereof, the directors may on their own initiative, and shall at the written request of such officer, widow, or child, submit such question for a decision to the Secretary to the Treasury[1] and the Secretary to the Treasury[1] thereon shall be final.

43. No widow of a public officer whose marriage was contracted after he had ceased to contribute, and no child of such marriage, shall be entitled to any pension.

44. No pension to which a widow or child of a deceased public officer dying after the commencement of this Ordinance becomes entitled under this Ordinance or any other enactment relating to the pensions of the widows or children of deceased public officers shall be liable to the payment of estate duty under the Estate Duty Ordinance or the Estate Duty Act.

45. No pension, whether payable to a widow or to a child or children, shall be increased or decreased by reason of the residence of the person entitled to such pension being less or more healthy as to climate than Ceylon.

46.

47. The provisions of section 46 shall not apply in- any case where, on or after the appointed date, a bachelor retires from or otherwise leaves the public service or dies while in such service.

48.

49.

50. The provisions of section 49 shall not apply in any case where, on or after the appointed date, a contributor-

51.

52. Compound interest on such contributions under this Ordinance as are to be refunded under section 48 or section 51 shall be payable up to the date on which the refund becomes due and not up to the date on which the amount of the refund is paid, and shall be calculated in the same manner as compound interest on the contributions made under this Ordinance by a contributor during his bachelorhood is calculated for the purposes of the computation of the pension in consideration of the contributions so made.

53. Public officers appointed after the 14th day March, 1906, shall not be allowed to become contributors to the fund, anything in this Ordinance to the contrary notwithstanding; but abatements shall be made from the salaries or pensions of such public officers equivalent to the contributions and other payments which would have been levied from them under the provisions of this Ordinance, and shall be carried to the credit of the general revenue accounts of Ceylon:

Provided that the sum so received shall not be assessable for military contribution under the Defence Contribution Ordinance, 1898.*(*Omitted from this Edition as its operation is suspended by Ordinance No. 4 of 1946.)

54. The provisions of this Ordinance, so far as the same are not modified by the provisions of section 53, shall apply to all public officers appointed after the 14th day of March, 1906.

55. All pensions accruing after the 14th day of March, 1906, in respect of increments of salary of existing public officers shall be calculated according to the tables in Schedule II

56. The rules contained in Schedule I shall be observed in calculating the pensions payable to the widows and orphans of public officers on the basis of the tables in Schedule II.

57.

58. An investigation of the scheme of paying pensions under this Ordinance in respect of public officers referred to in section 53 shall be made, at such times as the Governor-General[3] may determine, by an actuary approved by the Governor-General[3].