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Auxiliary Forces Pensions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 1997
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai, in moving the second reading of the Auxiliary Forces Pensions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 1997 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Mr President,
I move that the Auxiliary Forces Pensions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 1997 be read a second time.
This Bill seeks to introduce a unified scheme of calculation and payment of pensions and gratuities for the auxiliary forces.
Members of the auxiliary forces, unlike civil servants, are not eligible for pension emoluments upon normal retirement. However, a pension and/or a gratuity may be awarded to a member or his dependants if he is permanently injured or killed in connection with his duties. The payment of such pension and gratuity is provided for in the respective Ordinances of individual auxiliary forces.
There are a number of deficiencies in the present legislation concerning the calculation and payment of pensions and gratuities to members of the different auxiliary forces. For instance, the widow and dependants of a deceased member would be eligible for pension benefits, but not the widower and dependants if the deceased member is a female. There are differences in the calculation and payment of pensions for different auxiliary forces, and existing legislation does not provide for the necessary medical treatment for a member of the auxiliary forces who has retired because of an injury sustained in the course of his/her duty.
The Auxiliary Forces Pensions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 1997 aims to provide a common basis and benchmark for the calculation of pensions and gratuities for different auxiliary forces in order to ensure fairness and uniformity. It will also bring the system for auxiliary forces into line with that for the Civil Service.
Under the unified scheme as provided for in the Bill -
(a)
an injury pension will be granted to a member who is permanently injured while on duty and whose service has to be terminated. Such an injury pension will be exempt from salaries tax;