Hong Kong Ordinances

PENSION BENEFITS ORDINANCE - SECT 20

Death gratuity or ex gratia payment

(Past version on 30/06/1997).

Adaptation amendments retroactively made - see 63 of 1999 s. 3

(1) Where an officer-

   (a)  who has completed not less than 2 years' qualifying service, dies
        other than as specified in paragraph (b); or

   (b)  irrespective of the length of the period of his qualifying  service,
        dies as a result of injuries received-

        (i)    in the actual discharge of his duty;

        (ii)   not due to his own serious and wilful misconduct; and (Replaced
               3 of 1993 s. 50)

        (iii)  on account of circumstances specifically attributable to the
               nature of his duty, while in service under the Government,
               there shall be paid a death  gratuity of an amount calculated
               in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) A death gratuity payable under subsection (1) in respect of the death of
an officer shall be an amount not exceeding-

   (a)  his annual pensionable emoluments; or

   (b)  the commuted pension gratuity which he would have received had he
        retired at the date of his death and opted for reduction of his
        pension by 50% under section 24(1), whichever is the greater.

(3) In computing a commuted pension gratuity for the purposes of subsection
(2), the officer's service shall be deemed to include any period of untaken
vacation leave for which an ex gratia payment corresponding to the salary for
that period has been granted.

(3A) Where an officer who is not on agreement and has completed less than 2
years' qualifying service dies while in service under the  Government other
than as specified in subsection (1)(b), there shall be paid an ex gratia
payment of an amount equal to-

   (a)  where the officer has completed less than 1 year's qualifying 
        service, one fourth of his annual pensionable emoluments; or

   (b)  where the officer has completed not less than 1 year's
        qualifying service, half of his annual pensionable emoluments. (Added
        3 of 1993 s. 50)

(4) Where a pensioner, other than a person referred to in subsection (5), dies
after retirement from service under the Government, there shall be paid a
death gratuity of an amount equal to-

   (a)  his annual pensionable emoluments; or

   (b)  the commuted pension gratuity which he would have received had he
        opted on his retirement for reduction of his pension by 50% under
        section 24(1), whichever is the greater, less any pension benefits
        already paid or payable to him but excluding any additional pension
        granted under section  15 (1).

(5) Where an officer, who has been granted a deferred pension-

   (a)  dies before any deferred pension is paid to him, there shall be paid a
        death gratuity of an amount not exceeding the maximum commuted 
        pension gratuity which he would have received had he retired at the
        date of his retirement in the public interest under section 11(1)(e),
        his compulsory retirement under section 11(1)(f) or his resignation
        under section 11(1)(j), as the case may be, and opted for reduction of
        his pension by 50% under section 24(1), plus any authorized increase;
        or

   (b)  dies after any deferred pension is paid to him, there shall be paid a
        death gratuity of an amount equal to the maximum commuted pension 
        gratuity which he would have received had he opted for reduction of
        his pension by 50% under section 24(1) plus any authorized increase
        thereon up to the time when the deferred pension was paid to him for
        the first time, less any pension benefits already paid or payable to
        him and any authorized increase thereon up to the time when the
        deferred pension was paid to him for the first time, but excluding any
        additional pension granted under section 15(1).

(6) Subject to subsections (7) and (8), in the case of an officer, other than
an officer referred to in subsection (5), who dies in the circumstances
described in subsection (1) and whose period of qualifying  service is-

   (a)  not less than 5 nor more than 22 1/2 years; or

   (b)  more than 22 1/2 years but whose pensionable service is less than 22
        1/2 years, the pensionable service which may be taken into account for
        the computation of death gratuity may be supplemented by deeming his
        pensionable service to be-

        (i)    twice the actual period of his pensionable service (subject to
               a maximum of 22 1/2 years); or

        (ii)   the period of pensionable service that he would have completed
               if he had served until attaining his retirement age, whichever
               is the lesser.

(7) Subsection (6) shall apply in the case of an officer who is eligible for,
or is granted, a pension, and who is re-appointed to service 
under the Government, irrespective of the length of qualifying service
completed during such re-appointment.

(8) In the case of an officer to whom subsection (7) applies, the deemed
increase of pensionable service under subsection (6) in respect of the final
period of service of the officer may not exceed-

   (a)  the deemed increase of pensionable service for which the officer would
        have been eligible under subsection (6) had his total period of
        service been continuous; or

   (b)  the actual period of his service after his re-appointment, whichever
        is the lesser, and any officer who has been granted a deemed increase
        of pensionable service under this Ordinance or the Pensions  Ordinance
        ( Cap 89), or both the Ordinances, in respect of his previous period
        of service shall only be eligible for a further deemed increase of
        pensionable service for any subsequent period of service to the extent
        that the total deemed increase of pensionable service does not exceed
        the maximum deemed increase of pensionable service specified in
        subsection

(6).

(9) In respect of an officer who has more than one period of continuous
service, there shall be paid a death gratuity in respect of each period of
continuous service under this section; but the total sum of the death
gratuities payable in respect of more than one period of continuous service
shall not exceed the sum of the death gratuity that would have been payable
had the officer's whole period of service been continuous and had his
highest pensionable emoluments or notional highest  pensionable emoluments,
whichever is the greater, been taken for the calculation of the
death gratuity, less any pension benefits already paid or payable to him but
excluding any additional pension granted under section 15(1).

(10) Every death gratuity or ex gratia payment shall be paid as soon as
possible after the death of the officer or pensioner to-

   (aa) where he had made a nomination under subsection (10A), his surviving
        spouse; (Added 98 of 1994 s. 11)

   (a)  where he had not made a nomination under subsection (10A), his legal
        personal representative and shall form part of the estate of the
        officer or pensioner for the purposes of distribution but no estate
        duty shall be payable in respect of the death gratuity or ex gratia
        payment and its addition to the principal value of the estate shall
        not be taken into consideration for the purpose of increasing the rate
        at which estate duty on the remainder of the estate may be payable; or

   (b)  where the death gratuity or ex gratia payment does not exceed such
        amount as may be determined by the Chief Executive, a person named by
        the Chief Executive to be the recipient. (Amended 3 of 1993 s. 50; 63
        of 1999 s. 3)

(10A) An officer may by a notice in writing to the Secretary for the Civil
Service nominate his spouse to be the recipient of the death  gratuity or ex
gratia payment payable under this section in respect of his death. (Added 3 of
1993 s. 50)

(10B) An officer who makes an nomination under subsection (10A) may at any
time revoke the nomination by a notice in writing to the Secretary for the
Civil Service. (Added 3 of 1993 s. 50)

(11) This section shall not apply in the case of a death of an officer or
pensioner where benefits corresponding to a death gratuity are paid or payable
under the Oversea Superannuation Scheme in respect of the death. (Enacted
1987)