Reward loyal civil servants

THE amount of pension received by a government pensioner is dependent on two factors: the last drawn basic salary and the number of years in the civil service.

The higher the last drawn basic salary the higher the pension. There is no limit imposed on the actual last drawn basic salary for pension calculation.

There is, however, a limit imposed on the maximum number of years of service that can be considered for pension calculation. The maximum is 30 years of service – even if the officer had served the government for 40 years.

Such a formula for calculating pensions favours the higher paid officers with a tertiary education who will retire on a higher last drawn basic salary.

Those without the benefit of a tertiary education and who joined the service earlier in life cannot take advantage of their extra years of service beyond the 30-year limit to benefit them in their pension calculation.

Coupled with that is the fact that they are junior staff with lower basic salaries.

Due recognition and credit should be given to the longer years of loyal service beyond the 30-year limit, by basing pension calculations on the actual number years served in the government. The rising cost of living for basic necessities and the struggle to make ends meet are more keenly felt by the lower paid pensioners.

M. Ganeshadeva Kuala Lumpur