Committee concluded in 3 minutes after extending deadline for pension amendments

The meeting of Parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee held after Tuesday’s eight-minute-long parliamentary sitting concluded within three minutes after extending the deadline to complete works related to a major amendment to the Pension Act, by the end of next month.

Extraordinary parliamentary sittings were held on both Monday and Tuesday.

The amendment to the Pension Act to allow those battling serious illnesses such as cancer to access their pension funds for their treatment was accepted by the Parliament by the unanimous votes of 51 lawmakers in attendance during Monday’s sitting and subsequently forwarded to the Committee for review.

The Committee held a meeting on Tuesday for discussions regarding extending the initial deadline set for completion of works related to the legislature.

At the commencement of the meeting, lawmakers were asked for their opinion. In response, Kelaa MP Abdulla Shareef proposed to set a deadline of the end of this month to seek comments from the relevant government authorities regarding the legislature and a deadline of end of next month for the Committee to complete works related to the legislature.

The proposals were approved with the unanimous consensus of all members in attendance. The meeting concluded immediately after, with the whole meeting lasting some three minutes.

Notably, the extraordinary sitting out of session held on Tuesday lasted for just eight minutes. The only matter on the agenda for the sitting had been the approval of the appointment of Dr. Aishath Rameela, the incumbent administration’s first Minister of Agriculture and Animal Welfare, as the president of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM). 

The government-backed bill was submitted after the ruling PNC-dominated Parliament rejected an amendment submitted by opposition MDP’s North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudoo), seeking the same changes on October 21^st.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu announced the government’s decision to submit the amendments to the Pension Act to pave the way for the utilization of pension funds for additional purposes during a meeting with Henveiru district residents of Male’ on December 7^th.

The new bill submitted by PNC’s Milandhoo MP Hassan Mufeedh Abdul Qadir includes new provisions.

Under the proposed amendments, individuals undergoing treatment for serious illnesses would be allowed to withdraw pension funds regardless of age, either as a lump sum or in instalments. Another change would permit pension holders who have already paid 20 percent of Hajj costs to the Hajj Corporation to cover the remaining 80 percent using their pension.

Currently, while pension funds may be used for Hajj expenses, withdrawals for medical treatment and other purposes are restricted, and pension payments begin at 65 years.