Retired superior court judges concerned over pension cut
Retired Supreme Court judges and Court of Appeal judges are in a quandary over a decision by the Pensions Department to deduct in instalments the commuted pension paid to them at retirement amidst claims t hat the Department’s move violates the Constitution.
The Department of Pensions has started deducting on an instalment basis the commuted pension paid to the retired superior court judges after an audit query and a directive from the Auditor General’s Department to recover the payment.
However, retired Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges have expressed concern about the move claiming that constitutionally the salary payable to and the pension entitlement of a Supreme Court judge or a Court of Appeal judge cannot be reduced after his or her appointment.
Under existing regulations, a Supreme Court or Court of Appeal judge who has served 36 months in either capacity or both, on retirement is entitled to receive a pension calculated on the basis of 90 percent of his or her salary at retirement.
Pensions Department Director General Jagath Dias told the Sunday Times that all retiring public servants are entitled to a commuted pension amounting to 24 months of pension to be deducted in installment basis within a 10 year period, but in view of the clause in the Constitution where salaries and pension of the SC or CA judge cannot be reduced there has been a grey area to be cleared.
However, as the Auditor General’s Department has raised an audit query and given a directive to collect the money paid he was compelled to act on the directives.
He said several previous attempts were made to seek interpretation from the Attorney General’s Department and the Presidential Secretariat. "If the method needs to be changed the existing regulations need to be changed accordingly with parliamentary approval and implemented," he said. Mr Dias said that in keeping with the directive from the Auditor General’s Department, the Pensions Department was gathering information on the retired SC and CA judges who had been paid the commuted pension in a bid to recover the commuted pension paid to them.