The parliament yesterday accepted for consideration a bill on lowering the pension age from 65 to 60 years.
The amendments proposed to the pension law by independent MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik was accepted unanimously with 56 votes in favour and sent to committee for review.
The deputy speaker also proposed amending the law to allow workers to withdraw from their savings after retiring at the age of 55.
During the debate on the legislation yesterday, some MPs noted that lowering the retirement age would make 6,000 more people eligible for the MVR5,000 a month old age pension, which would cost the government MVR30 million extra a month.
State institutions had opposed a proposal to lower the retirement age in 2012.
Meanwhile, government-sponsored legislation on national disasters was also accepted for consideration at yesterday’s sitting of parliament with 54 votes in favour.
The bill proposes the formation of a ‘national disaster council’ and specifies the role of state institutions in relief efforts and mitigating the effects of national disasters.
A national plan outlining preventive measures must be formulated every five years, the proposed law states.
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