1988 Ed.]
Pension Benefits (Judicial Officers)
[CAP. 401
19
Deemed increase in pensionable service
25. An officer's pensionable service shall be deemed to be increased by one month for each completed month of pensionable service in a judicial office that is both after age 50 and after 1 July 1987.
Commuted pension gratuity and reduced pension
26. (1) Subject to subsections (5) and (8), an officer to whom a pension is to be granted under this Ordinance, other than a pension under section 14 and an additional pension under section 15, shall, if he has exercised his option in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) of this section, be paid, in lieu of that pension or aggregate of the pensions, a reduced pension at the rate of 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90 or 95% of the pension, or a similar percentage of the aggregate of the pensions, according to the option exercised, together with a commuted pension gratuity equal to 14 times the amount of the reduction so made in the annual pension or aggregate annual pensions.
(2) The option referred to in subsection (1) shall be exercised, and if it has been exercised may be revoked, not later than the day immediately preceding the date of the officer's retirement or, in the case of a deferred pension, not later than the date immediately preceding the date on which the officer attains the age when the deferred pension is payable under section 8(1)(a); but the Governor may, if it appears to him equitable in all the circumstances so to do, allow an officer in any particular case to exercise the option, or revoke an option previously exercised, at any time between that date and the actual date when the pension or aggregate pensions is payable for the first time.
(3) The option referred to in subsection (1) shall-
(a) be in writing addressed to the Director of Accounting Services; and (b) state the rate of the reduced pension, in accordance with that subsection, in the annual pension or aggregate of the annual pension, and the date of the exercise of the option shall be deemed to be the date on which the Director of Accounting Services receives the option.
(4) Except as may be provided under subsection (2), an option exercised under that subsection is irrevocable.
(5) An officer who dies before exercising an option under subsection (1) but after he has retired shall be deemed to have exercised the option to reduce his pension or aggregate pensions by 50% and the commuted pension gratuity and reduced pension shall be paid in accordance with subsection (1).
(6) Subject to subsections (7) and (8), a commuted pension gratuity is payable
(a) in case the relevant pension is a deferred pension, when that pension is payable under section 8 for the first time;
(b) in case a direction is given by the Governor under section 7(2) in relation to the relevant pension, when that pension would be payable for the first time if it were a deferred pension;
(c) in any other case, when the relevant reduced pension is payable under this Ordinance for the first time.
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