CO129-504-9 Pensions of government officers- improvement of terms 11-3-1927 - 21-11-1927 — Page 12

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3.

be remembered that no cadet officer has so far ever reached

a pension of £1000 a year. The position affects the officers

on lower scales than the cadet service with equal or greater

force. One of the reasons for the smallness of the pensions

obtainable by Hong Kong Officers as compared with officers of

other Eastern Colonies is that the salaries, in sterling,

are on a lower scale than those in Ceylon and Malaya and while local exchange privileges go some way to equalize

matters during service in the Colonies such privileges, being non-pensionable, are not reflected in the pensions.

Under the present rules it is necessary for

an officer to have served for 35 years in order to qualify

for the maximum of two-thirds of his retiring salary.

If an

officer has joined the service at 25 years of age, which may

be taken as a normal age, he must therefore remain until he is 60, and must be subject to no deductions in respect of half pay leave or leave without pay, in order that he may qualify for this maximum. I consider that in normal circumstances officers of European race, who have served not less than 30 years in a tropical climate, should be in a position to retire at the age of 55 on a pension of two- thirds of salary and that they should get no higher proport- ion of salary as pension by remaining beyond 55, because, in my opinion, it is in the best interests of the service that such officers should, generally speaking, retire at 55 years

of age.

I would suggest, therefore, that the normal conditions for the maximum proportion of final emoluments

should be:-

(a) Not less than 30 years service.

(b)

Not less than 55 years of age.

4.