$5.29b earmarked to pay pensions
A TOTAL of $5.29 billion has been earmarked for the pensions of the 190,000-strong civil service.
That represents an 11 per cent increase compared with the $4.74 billion in the present financial year, and is 3.6 per cent of the total Budget expenditure of $146 billion.
''The increase of $545 million over the revised estimate for 1993/94 is due to the full year effect of new pensions awarded in 1993/94 and an increase of about 300 in the number of new retirees in 1994/95,'' the latest estimates said.
A higher number of civil servants - 3,800 - will retire this year, compared to 3,580 last year and 3,346 in 1992.
That brings the total number of civil service pensioners to 42,900.
Of the $5.29 billion, around $2.2 billion will be allocated for the payment of civil and judicial service pensions and other benefits, and the remaining $3.1 billion for pension gratuities and compensation.
The spending on the ex-gratia pensions and allowances will increase by more than five-fold as the Government plans to raise payments to dependent parents of police officers killed on duty.
The total payments will be increased from $380,000 in this fiscal year to $2.4 million in the coming fiscal year, representing an increase of $2 million.
Also, the total personnel expenses on incumbent civil servants is estimated to be around $3.73 billion - a $460 million increase from the present year's figure of $3.27 billion.
