Parliamentary Pensions (Enabling Provisions) Act (Chapter 2:06)
Malawi
Parliamentary Pensions (Enabling Provisions) Act
Chapter 2:06
- Assented to on 8 May 1981
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Commenced on 1 January 1972
- [This is the version of this document at 31 December 2014 and includes any amendments published up to 31 December 2017.]
- [Note: This version of the Act was revised and consolidated in the Fourth Revised Edition of the Laws of Malawi (L.R.O. 1/2015), by the Solicitor General and Secretary for Justice under the authority of the Revision of the Laws Act.]
This Act may be cited as the Parliamentary Pensions (Enabling Provisions) Act. In this Act unless the context otherwise requires—“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Trustees designated by section 6 (1) (2);“Fund” means the Parliamentary Pensions Premium Fund, established by section 3;“insurer” means any person doing business in Malawi, as a life insurer;“Member” means a member of the National Assembly;“Minister” includes the Speaker and Deputy Ministers;“Parliamentary Service” means service as a Member of Parliament for any determinate period;“reckonable service” means the aggregate of all Parliamentary Service;“scheme” means any pension formulated under this Act and includes any supplemental scheme;“Speaker” means the Speaker of the National Assembly“Trustees” means the Trustees of the Parliamentary Pensions Premium Fund constituted by section 5. There is hereby established a fund to be known as the Parliamentary Pensions Premium Fund, which shall vest in, and be held and administered by the Trustees upon and subject to the trusts, and for the advancement and furtherance of the objects in this Act hereinafter declared. The objects of the Fund are to provide moneys for effecting and maintaining such pension and related benefits schemes as the Trustees may, under this Act, from time to time, formulate on behalf of Members and insure with insurers for the benefit of such Members or their dependants. There is hereby constituted the Trustees of the Parliamentary Pensions Premium Fund, which shall by that name be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, capable of suing and being sued and, subject to this Act, of doing such acts and performing such deeds as a body corporate may by law do or perform. No person shall be appointed as a Trustee pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 6, or to subsection (4) or (5) of the said section 6, or, having been so appointed, shall continue to act as such Trustee, who—(a)is an undischarged bankrupt;(b)has, within the past three years, been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty; or(c)has been removed by a court from any office of trust by reason of misconduct The Trustees shall have power to hold the Fund upon and subject to the trusts declared by or under this Act, or by or under any scheme formulated under this Act, and shall have power to enter into any transaction or to do any act, which, in their opinion will tend to the advancement of the objects of the fund as declared by section 4 or which is incidental or contributory thereto, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, shall have power to—(a)formulate in conjunction with any insurer a scheme or schemes for the payment of pensions or other benefits to former Members and for the payment of pensions or other benefits to the surviving spouse, children or other dependants of deceased Members or former Members.(b)insure such pension scheme or schemes with such insurer and to agree to and settle the terms of any master policy to be entered into with such insurer, insuring such pension scheme or schemes;(c)increase, from time to time, by agreement with the relevant insurer, the amount per annum of any such pension benefits payable under any such scheme or the amount of any lump sum payment or other benefits payable thereunder and to provide from the Fund the amount of any additional insurance premium resultant upon any such increase;(d)arrange, by agreement with the relevant insurer, for death and other benefits to be payable under any such scheme to the surviving spouse, children and other dependants of any deceased Member or deceased former Member who was a contributor to, or beneficiary under, the scheme at the date of his death;(e)place any surplus moneys in the Fund on deposit account in any Bank until such moneys are required for the purposes of the Fund;(f)otherwise manage and control the Fund to the best interests of the beneficiaries under the scheme or schemes by applying all the powers of investment prescribed by the Trustee Act.[Cap. 5:02] The executive Trustee shall be the principal administrator of the Fund and of any scheme effected under this Act, and shall be responsible to the Trustees for the day-to-day running of the Fund and of any such scheme. Subject to this Act, there shall be paid into the Fund out of moneys provided by Government in each financial year a Government contribution of an amount equal to twice the total of the sums payable into the Fund in that financial year by, or in respect of, the Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and Members under section 11. Any scheme formulated and agreed by the Trustees and the insurers under this Act shall make provision for the payment of a pension to or in respect of any Member, who, after the commencement of this Act, ceases to be a Member or dies, having completed his reckonable service on or before the date upon which he so ceased to be a Member or died. Where any supplemental scheme has been formulated under section 14, the amount available out of the contributions to the Fund effected under section 11 for the payment of premiums in respect of any Member to whom such supplemental scheme relates shall be applied as follows—(a)a sum equal to the premium payable in respect of an ordinary Member shall be applied towards the premium payment of the Members Pension Scheme in respect of the Member to whom such supplemental scheme relates;(b)the excess over and above (a) shall be applied towards the premium payment of the relevant supplemental scheme. Any trusts settled by or under this Act, or by, or in furtherance of, any scheme formulated under and in accordance with this Act, shall not be avoided or limited by any rule of law which prohibits or limits the settling of property in perpetuity, or the remote vesting of property, or which prohibits or limits accumulations, or restraints upon alienation.Part 1 – Preliminary
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
Part II – Establishment of Fund
3. Establishment of the Fund
4. Objects of the Fund
Part III – The Trustees
5. Trustees of the Fund
6. Appointment and removal of Trustees
7. Disqualifications
8. Meetings of the Trustees
9. Power of the Trustee
10. Duties of the executive Trustee
Part IV – Financial provisions
11. Contributions from Parliamentary remuneration
12. Government contributions
13. Conditions of pensions
Part V – Supplemental schemes
14. Trustees to formulate supplemental schemes
15. Contributions to supplemental scheme premiums
Part VI – Miscellaneous
16. Rules against perpetuities, etc., not applicable