Pensions are adjusted in parallel with the salary revision of civil servants now under the SSPA review

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has assured that pension payments to more than 931,000 retirees will be adjusted, in line with the salary review of civil servants in the Public Service Remuneration System Review (SSPA).

Berita Harian reported, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Dr Zaliha Mustafa, said that basically, pensions received by retirees and pension recipients will be adjusted according to the provisions of Section 3 of the Pension Adjustment Act 1980 (Act 238).

“This section provides that the pension or retirement allowance of an officer shall be adjusted if there is a salary review for a public officer who is serving.

“Thus, pension payments will also be adjusted, in line with the salary review of civil servants in the SSPA Study,” she said in a written answer in Parliament.

She answered a question posed by Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) asking the Prime Minister to state whether the pensions received by government retirees will be adjusted following the recent announcement of civil servant salary revisions.

Poay Tiong claimed that many government pensioners were upset about their position.

The media last March reported that the government’s liability for pension payments including civil service retirees, members of Parliament and members of the administration, political secretaries and judges increased by more than RM1 billion every year.

Dr Zaliha reportedly said the government paid RM32.01 billion to 931,707 retirees last year, an increase of RM1.75 billion compared to the previous year which was paid to 902,999 retirees.

She was also reported to have said that in 2022 the government will pay pensions amounting to RM30.26 billion, an increase of RM2.22 billion compared to 2021 which was paid to 878,441 pensioners involving a payment of RM28.04 billion.

Last week, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was reported to have said that details regarding the salary increase for civil servants will be announced before the presentation of Budget 2025 this October.

The Prime Minister said that this matter is important because it has been too long since civil servants have not enjoyed a salary increase commensurate with their hard work over the years.