Hong Kong Ordinances

PENSION BENEFITS ORDINANCE - SECT 24

Commuted pension gratuity and reduced pension

(Past version on 30/06/1997).

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

(1) Subject to subsections (5) and (7), an officer to whom any 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
any such 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 such officer's retirement or, in the case of a deferred pension,
not later than the date immediately preceding the date on which such officer
attains the age when the deferred pension is payable under section 7(a):
Provided that the Chief Executive 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. (Amended 63 of 1999 s. 3)

(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) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) as regards the revocation of
an option, an option exercised under that subsection shall be 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) (a) Subject to paragraph (c) and subsection (7), a
commuted pension gratuity shall be payable-

        (i)    in case the relevant pension is a deferred pension, when that
               pension is payable under section 7 for the first time;

        (ii)   in case a direction is given by the Chief Executive under
               section 11(2) in relation to the relevant pension, when that
               pension would be payable for the first time if it were a
               deferred pension;

        (iii)  in any other case, when the relevant reduced pension is payable
               under this Ordinance for the first time.

   (b)  The Chief Executive may, as regards a particular case, direct that a
        commuted pension gratuity shall be payable on a day specified in the
        direction, being a day which is earlier than the day on which the
        gratuity would otherwise fall to be paid under paragraph (a).

   (c)  Where the Chief Executive gives a direction under this subsection, the
        commuted pension gratuity to which the direction relates shall be
        payable on the day specified in the direction. (Replaced 61 of 1988 s.
        5. Amended 63 of 1999 s. 3)

(7) Where an officer retires in accordance with any compensation  scheme, the
reduced pension and the commuted pension gratuity shall be computed, and shall
be payable, in accordance with the compensation scheme applicable to the
officer. (Enacted 1987)