PART II
GENERAL PROVISIONS
4. The Armed Forces Council may grant to members of the Singapore Armed Forces and to their dependants or personal representatives pensions, gratuities and other allowances in accordance with these Regulations.
5.
—(1) No member or other person shall have an absolute right to compensation or to any pension, gratuity or other allowance under these Regulations nor shall anything in these Regulations limit the right of the Armed Forces Council to dismiss or to terminate the services of a member without compensation.
(2) Where it is established to the satisfaction of the Armed Forces Council that a member has been guilty of negligence, irregularity of misconduct it shall be lawful for the Armed Forces Council to reduce or altogether to withhold or cancel the pension, gratuity or other allowance for which the member would have become eligible but for the provision of this regulation.
(3) The Armed Forces Council may cancel, withhold or reduce a pension, gratuity or other allowance granted to a member if it is established to the satisfaction of the Armed Forces Council that such pension, gratuity or other allowance has been obtained by the wilful suppression of material facts or has been granted in ignorance of facts which, had they been known before the retirement of the member, would have justified a reduction in his emoluments or resulted in his dismissal or discharge from the Singapore Armed Forces.
(4) Where a pension, gratuity or allowance has been cancelled, withheld or reduced under paragraph (2) or (3), the Armed Forces Council may at any time, if in any case it considers it equitable to do so, grant or restore the whole pension, gratuity or allowance, or a portion thereof.
6.
—(1) Every pension granted under these Regulations shall be subject to the condition that unless and until the member has reached the retirement age referred to in regulation 21 he may, if he is certified to be medically fit for service, be called upon by the Armed Forces Council to perform further service.
(2) If a member called upon to perform further service declines to do so, payment of his pension may be suspended by the Armed Forces Council until he has attained the retirement age referred to in regulation 21.
(3) If a member, who has been retired under regulation 22(f), (g) or (h) at his request, declines to perform or refuses to report for further service or any other form of service under the Enlistment Act (Cap. 93) or other written law, when he is certified to be medically fit for service, the Armed Forces Council may direct that the member shall forthwith cease to be eligible for any pension granted under these Regulations.
(4) Where a retired member renders further service under this regulation, the payment of his pension may, as the Armed Forces Council thinks fit, be suspended during the period of such further service.
(5) On his subsequent retirement in circumstances in which he may be granted a pension, he may subject to paragraph (6) be granted in lieu of his previous pension or gratuity, a pension computed as if the periods of his service had been continuous, and such pension may be based on his pensionable emoluments at the date of his previous or his final retirement from the Singapore Armed Forces, whichever is the greater.
(6) Where a pension is granted to a member under paragraph (5) and —
(a)
the member was granted a gratuity and reduced pension on his previous retirement, there shall be refunded to the Armed Forces Council the amount, if any, by which such gratuity together with the total amount of such reduced pension paid during the period of retirement exceeds the total amount of the pension at full rate which would have been payable during such period if the member had not so elected to receive that gratuity and reduced pension;
(b)
the member was granted a gratuity only on his previous retirement, there shall be refunded to the Armed Forces Council the amount, if any, by which such gratuity exceeds the total amount of the pension at the full pension rate which would have been payable during the period of retirement, if no regard had been had to the minimum period of service qualifying for a pension and the member had been granted a pension in respect of the service on account of which the gratuity was granted.
(7) In calculating a pension or gratuity granted in pursuance of paragraph (5) no account shall be taken for any purpose of the period during which the member was not in service.
Pensions may cease on accepting employment in certain companies or on engaging in certain occupation for gain
8.
—(1) If any member to whom a pension has been granted under these Regulations —
(a)
becomes either a director of any company, the principal part of whose business is in any way directly concerned with Singapore, or an officer or servant employed in Singapore by any such company; or
(b)
engages in any occupation for gain in Singapore,
without the prior permission of the Armed Forces Council in writing, then, in every such case it shall be lawful for the Armed Forces Council to direct that such pension shall forthwith cease, and thereupon such pension shall cease accordingly.
(2) It shall be lawful for the Armed Forces Council on being satisfied that the person in respect of whose pension any direction under paragraph (1) has been given has ceased to be a director of such company or to be employed as an officer or employee of such company in Singapore or has ceased to be engaged in such occupation, as the case may be, to give directions for the restoration of such pension with retrospective effect if it shall see fit, to such date as it shall specify, and such pension shall be restored accordingly.
(3) Paragraph (1) shall cease to apply to any member to whom a pension has been granted under these Regulations after a period of 5 years from the date of his retirement.
9.
—(1) If any member to whom a pension has been granted under these Regulations is sentenced to death or any term of imprisonment by a court of competent jurisdiction, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, for any crime or offence, it shall be lawful for the Armed Forces Council to direct that such pension shall forthwith cease, and thereupon such pension shall cease accordingly except that the pension shall be restored with retrospective effect in the case of a person who received a free pardon at any time after his conviction.
(2) Where a pension ceases for the reason referred to in paragraph (1) it shall be lawful for the Armed Forces Council to cause all or any part of moneys to which the member would have been entitled by way of pension to be paid to or applied for the benefit of any wife, child or children of the member, or after the expiration of his sentence, also for the benefit of the member himself, in such manner and in such proportion as the Armed Forces Council thinks fit.
10.
—(1) If a member who has been retired under regulation 22(f), (g) or (h) at his request, emigrates from Singapore before he has reached the retirement age referred to in regulation 21 then in every such case it shall be lawful for the Armed Forces Council to direct that any pension payable to the member shall cease to be payable to the member or that the member shall cease to be eligible for any pension payable under these Regulations.
(2) This regulation shall not apply to those members who joined the Singapore Armed Forces or became public officers at any time prior to 27th January 1978 and are still serving as members of the Singapore Armed Forces or in the public service without any break in service.
11.
—(1) For the purposes of these Regulations, the Armed Forces Council may appoint a medical board or medical boards, either generally or for particular cases.
(2) A medical board appointed under this regulation shall consist of not less than 2 medical practitioners, one of whom shall either be a Government medical officer or a medical officer of the Singapore Armed Forces.
12. The Armed Forces Council may —
(a)
appoint one or more Pensions Officers to assess, award or review retired pay, pensions, gratuities and allowances to be granted or granted under these Regulations; and
(b)
give such directions as it thinks fit to any such Pensions Officer in the discharge of his duties.
13.
—(1) For the purposes of these Regulations, the Armed Forces Council may appoint a Pensions Appeal Tribunal (referred to in this regulation as the Tribunal) which shall consist of not less than 3 members.
(2) The Tribunal shall have power to vary any award made under these Regulations (other than an award to which regulation 13A relates), whether by increasing or decreasing such award, and the decision of the Tribunal thereon shall be final and conclusive and not subject to review by or appeal to any Court.
(3) The Tribunal shall have power to call for any document relating to the appellant’s service from an Officer-in-charge of Records and to order the appellant to undergo a medical examination by a medical officer to be appointed by the Tribunal in any particular case.
(4) The Tribunal may certify to an Officer-in-charge of Records any reasonable travelling and other expenses which may have been incurred by any person in appearing before the Tribunal or before any medical officer appointed to make a medical examination of the person under this regulation.
(5) Every appellant shall have the right to appear before the Tribunal in person, or by a representative, but the Tribunal may hear and determine any appeal in the absence of the appellant.
(6) Every appeal under this regulation shall be brought within 12 months of the date on which the decision of a Pensions Officer is notified to the appellant but the Tribunal may allow an appeal to be brought after the expiration of the period limited by this regulation if it considers that there was a reasonable excuse for the delay.
13A.
—(1) For the purposes of these Regulations, the Armed Forces Council may appoint a Compensation Board which shall consist of not less than 4 members.
(2) The Compensation Board shall have power to make an award or vary any award made by a Pensions Officer in respect of the death or disablement of a member, whether by increasing or decreasing such award, and the decision of the Compensation Board thereon shall be final and conclusive.
(3) The Compensation Board shall have power —
(a)
to call for any document relating to the appellant’s service from an Officer-in-charge of Records and to order the appellant to undergo a medical examination by a medical officer to be appointed by the Compensation Board in any particular case; and
(b)
to certify to an Officer-in-charge of Records any reasonable travelling and other expenses which may have been incurred by any person in appearing before the Compensation Board or before any medical officer appointed to make a medical examination of the person under this regulation.
(4) Every appellant shall have the right to appear before the Compensation Board in person, or by a representative, but the Compensation Board may hear and determine any appeal in the absence of the appellant.
(5) Every appeal under this regulation shall be brought within 12 months of the date on which the decision of a Pensions Officer is notified to the appellant but the Compensation Board may allow an appeal to be brought after the expiration of the period limited by this regulation if it considers that there was a reasonable excuse for the delay.
14.
—(1) Where a Pensions Officer makes a final assessment of the degree or nature of the disablement of a member, or a final decision that there is no disablement or that the disablement has come to an end, any award under regulations 41 to 50 made on the basis of that assessment, or any such final decision, shall not, subject to any decision given by the Compensation Board, and to the provisions of this Part, be reviewed unless —
(a)
in the case of a final assessment, there is a substantial increase in the degree of disablement which is attributable to service;
(b)
in the case of a final decision, there is a substantial degree of disablement which is attributable to service;
(c)
the rate of the pension or other grant has been fixed in error at a figure which is not appropriate under these Regulations to the assessment of the degree or nature of the disablement;
(d)
the award of the pension or other grant has been made in error; or
(e)
a Pensions Officer has reason to believe that the award has been obtained by improper means.
(2) Any award under these Regulations (other than an award made on the basis of a final assessment referred to in paragraph (1)) may, subject to any decision given by the Compensation Board, be reviewed at any time on any of the grounds specified in paragraph (1) or on any other ground which, in the opinion of a Pensions Officer, having regard to these Regulations, necessitates its review.
(3) On any review under this regulation, a Pensions Officer may continue or vary the award, or make a fresh award in place of it, or cancel it, or in the case of such a final decision as is mentioned in paragraph (1), may make an award as may be appropriate having regard to these Regulations.
15.
—(1) Where a person to whom any payment could have been made under these Regulations before his death dies before the payment is made, and the amount unpaid does not exceed $500, the amount so unpaid may be paid to the personal representatives of the deceased person without probate or other proof of title, or may be paid or distributed to or among the persons appearing to a Pensions Officer to be the persons beneficially entitled to the personal estate of the deceased person, or any of them.
(2) In determining the amount to be paid or distributed, a Pensions Officer may have regard to any payments made or expenses incurred by any such person for or on account of the funeral of the deceased person.
16. These Regulations shall be administered by Pensions Officers appointed under regulation 12 or such other person or body as the Armed Forces Council may appoint and, except as otherwise provided by any written law, no award under these Regulations shall be subject to review by or appeal to any Court.