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Parliamentary Pension Scheme Act 1998

SAMOA

PARLIAMENTARY PENSION SCHEME ACT 1998

Arrangement of Provisions

PART I
Introduction

1. Short title and commencement
2. Interpretation

PART II
Establishment of the Scheme

3. Establishment of the Scheme
4. Board of Directors
5. Powers of the Board
6. Meetings of the Board
7. Consideration of urgent matters
8. Remuneration
9. Disclosure of Interest
10. Indemnity for Directors

PART III
The Pension Plan

11. Adoption of a Plan
12. Necessary Components of the Plan
13. Amendments to the Plan
14. Administration of the Plan

PART IV
Entitlements under the Scheme

15. Payment of Entitlemen

PART V
Funds of the Scheme

16. Member's contributions
17. Government's contribution
18. Other Funds of the Scheme
19. Investment of Scheme's Funds

PART VI
Actuarial Valuations, Audit etc

20. Annual Actuarial certificate
21. Audit of all Funds
22. Annual Reports

PART VII
Miscellaneous

23. Regulations

THE PARLIAMENTARY PENSION SCHEME
ACT 1998
1998 No. 30

AN ACT to make provision for a pension Scheme for Members of the Parliament of Samoa. (3 July 1998)

(Commencement date: 3rd July 1998)

BE IT ENACTED by the Legislative Assembly of Samoa in Parliament assembled as follows:-

PART I
Introduction

1. Short title and commencement-(1) This Act may be cited as the Parliamentary Pension Scheme Act 1998.

(2) This Act shall come into force on the date that it is assented to by the Head of State but entitlements under this Act shall commence on the 16th day of May 1996, and to that extent this Act shall have retrospective effect.

2. Interpretation – (1) In this Act unless the contrary intention appears:

"Board" means the Board of Directors established under section 4;

"contribution" means the member's contribution fixed at 10% of the member's salary per annum, and the government's contribution being the balance required to provide the benefits under the scheme;

"credited interest rate" means the interest rate declared by the Board at the beginning of each plan year pursuant to its power in section 5(e);

"effective date" means 16 May 1996;

"government" means the government of Samoa;

"government's contribution" means the amount in excess of the member's contributions required to provide the entitlements under the plan;

"Member of Parliament" means a Member of the Parliament of Samoa holding that office on or after the effective date;

"member" means any participant in the Scheme;

"member's contribution" means the amount of 10% per annum of each member's salary;

"Minister" means the Minister of Finance;

"Plan" means the pension plan prescribed by regulations and in accordance with this Act;

"plan year" means each year commencing on July 1 and finishing on 30 June of the next calendar year;

"regulations" means regulations made under this Act;

"retirement age" means the age of 65 years or such other age prescribed in the regulations;

"salary" means gross base remuneration excluding any additional allowances or payments;

"Scheme actuary" means the actuary employed or engaged by the Board under section 14(d);

"spouse" means lawfully married husband or wife.".

PART II
Establishment of Scheme

3. Establishment of Scheme - A pension scheme for the benefit of Members of Parliament shall be established and administered in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the regulations.

4. Board of Directors-(1) There shall be a Board to be called the Parliamentary Scheme Board of Directors consisting of 5 members appointed by the Head of State acting on the advice of Cabinet.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), members of the Board shall hold office for 3 years and shall be eligible for re-appointment.

(3) Every Director, whenever appointed, holds office at the pleasure of the Head of State, acting on the advice of Cabinet.

5. Powers of the Board - The Board shall have the power to -

(a) Amend or substitute the Plan by regulation and in accordance with Part III;

(b) Pay entitlements and pensions under the scheme in accordance with the provisions of Part IV;

(c) Receive and invest funds in accordance with the provisions of Part V;

(d) Retain the services of actuaries and accountants for the purposes of Part VI;

(e) Declare a credited interest rate at the beginning of each plan year,

Provided that the Board shall not declare a rate that exceeds the rate forming part of the assumptions used by the actuary under this Act; and

(f) Do all things necessary for the effective administration of the scheme and in particular for the approval of the administrative arrangements of the scheme under section 14.

6. Meetings of the Board-(1) The Board shall meet as and when required and a meeting may be called by the Chairman, or by any two members of the Board giving written notice to the other members.

(2) The procedure at meetings shall be determined by the Board.

(3) The Board shall ensure that minutes of its deliberations and decisions shall be kept.

(4) Decisions of the Board shall be made in accordance with a vote of a majority of members.

7. Consideration of urgent matters - Matters requiring urgent consideration may be approved by the Board by obtaining in writing the consent of a majority of members.

8. Remuneration-(1) The Directors shall be entitled to such remuneration as is fixed, from time to time, by Cabinet.

(2) The expenses incurred by a member in attending a meeting of the Board shall be reimbursed the member from the general account of the Scheme.

(3) Subject to section 9, a Director may be entitled to payment for specific services provided by the Director to the Board in accordance with a decision of the Board to retain his or her services in a particular matter.

9. Disclosure of Interest-(1) A Director who is directly or indirectly interested in any arrangement or agreement entered into, or proposed to be entered into by the Board, or in any other matter under consideration by the Board, shall as soon as possible after the relevant facts have come to his or her notice, disclose the nature of this interest at a meeting of the Board.

(2) A disclosure under this section shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Board, and the Director making the disclosure shall not thereafter take part in any deliberation or decisions relating to the arrangement, agreement or matter.

10. Indemnity for Directors-(1) The Directors shall not incur any personal liability as a result of anything done in good faith in the exercise of any power or the performance of any duty under this Act.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply where a Director is in breach of section 9.

PART III
The Pension Plan

11. Pension Plan-(1) The Board shall ensure that the Plan is consistent with the provisions of this Act, and specifies the entitlements of the members, and the manner of effecting the payments of their entitlements.

(2) The Plan:

(a) shall be consistent with section 2, and use those definitions;

(b) shall provide for entitlements that are consistent with section 12;

(c) may contain transitional and savings provisions, including entitlement provisions with retrospective application to the effective date.

12. Necessary Components of the Plan - The Plan shall make provision for –

(a) The payment and amount of an annual pension upon a member reaching retirement age and ceasing to be a Member of Parliament;

(b) The payment of withdrawal benefits -

(i) for current Members of Parliament; and

(ii) for members who leave parliamentary service prior to the retirement age for any reason other than death.

(c) The payment of retirement benefits for members retiring on or after the effective date and who have reached the retirement age;

(d) The payment, upon the death of a member, of a death nominee, or if there is no nominee, to a surviving spouse of the member, or if there is no spouse, to the member's next of kin;

(da) The payment of a pension to a surviving spouse of a deceased member;

(e) The calculation of benefits payable to a member who is re-elected to Parliament after he or she has received any part of their pension;

(f) Any other special conditions concerning the entitlements of members to receive benefits under the scheme; and

(g) Any other matter that is consistent with the provisions of this Act and the regulations and for which the Board considers provision should be made.

13. Amendments to the Plan-(1) The Board may make any regulations to amend or substitute the Plan that are necessary for its more efficient administration and which comply with section 11(2).

(a) Complies with section 11(3); and

(b) Is consistent with the necessary components of the Plan under section 12.

(2) In the event that matters of a financial nature require that a review of the Plan be undertaken, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Finance may request that the Plan be reviewed, and the Board shall consider amendments to, or substitution of, the Plan necessary to take account of the matters referred to it by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Finance.

14. Administration of the Plan - The Board shall take all steps necessary to ensure the efficient administration of the Scheme, and may –

(a) Make arrangements with the National Provident Fund to undertake its administration; or

(c) Engage the services of an experienced and reputable administrator of such schemes; and

(c) Employ an Administrator for the purpose of exercising the day to day administration of the scheme;

(d) Employ or engage the services of an actuary for the Scheme whose duties include giving actuarial advice to the Board in relation to the Plan.

PART IV
Entitlements Under the Scheme

15. Payment of Entitlements-(1) The Board may authorise the payment of entitlements to members that are in accordance with the Plan.

(2) The Board shall ensure that all such payments are made to members as they arise in accordance with the terms of the Plan.

(3) No payments shall be made to members unless they are entitlements under the Plan and no member shall be entitled to borrow monies from the funds of the scheme.

(4) Any payment made in contravention of subsection (3) shall be immediately repayable to the scheme and shall be recoverable by the Board regardless of the terms upon which the payment was purported to have been made.

(5) The contributions to the Fund and the benefits paid from it are exempt from taxation and section 7 of the Income Tax Act 1974 is amended to add subsection (cb) as follows –

"(cb) Income derived by a beneficiary from the Fund under the Parliamentary Pension Scheme Act 1998".

PART V
Funds of the Scheme

16. Members' Contributions-(1) Members' contributions shall be automatically deducted from their salaries and paid into the scheme.

(2) Every member shall be deemed to consent and agree to the deduction of his or her member's contribution from his or her salary.

17. Government's contribution-(1) In each plan year the Board shall take advice from the Scheme actuary for the purpose of making a determination as to the amount, if any, to be contributed by the government to the Scheme.

(2) The government shall guarantee the Scheme and contribute such amount, if any, from time to time as is determined by the Board under subsection (1).

18. Other Funds of the Scheme-(1) The government shall fund the administrative cost of the scheme in the event that the income from the investment of the scheme's funds are insufficient to meet such costs.

(2) Funds paid by the government under subsection (1) may be regarded as an advance to the scheme and may later be recoverable by the government from income from the investment of the scheme's funds.

19. Investment of Scheme's Funds-(1) Subject to the following subsection, the Board shall within 3 months of the date of the commencement of this Act, determine and approve an investment policy to guide the investment of the scheme's funds and such policy may be reviewed as the Board sees fit.

(2) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), the Board may authorise the investment of the Contributions to the Scheme -

(a) In any Samoa Government securities, or in any of the stock, funds, or other securities of a Commonwealth Government;

(b) On deposit in any bank within Samoa; and

(c) In any securities authorised for the investment of money subject to a trust to which the Trustee Act 1975 applies, by an Order of the Head of State, acting on the advice of Cabinet;

(d) in any specific investment or class of investment, prescribed by, or as authorised in the manner prescribed by, the regulations.

(3) Any such investments may be varied from time to time.

(4) The Board shall ensure that investments made under this section are done in such a manner as to permit the payment of the benefits payable under the Scheme as and when they fall due.

(5) When the liability to pay benefits under the Scheme at any given time is such as to permit investment of a certain proportion of the funds for a period of six months or less, the Board may authorise the investment of that proportion of the Scheme's funds in a bank in new Zealand, Australia or the United States, if those banks offer a better rate of interest than that which is available at banks within Samoa.

PART VI
Actuarial Valuations, Audit etc.

20. Annual Actuarial certificate-(1) In each plan year the Board shall commission the Scheme actuary to provide a certificate as to:

(a) the financial position and performance of the Scheme;

(b) the amount of any contributions to the Scheme required from the government; and

(c) any other matters considered relevant by the Scheme actuary.

(2) The Scheme actuary shall provide the certificate to the Board within a reasonable time from the date of the commission.

21. Audit of all funds-(1) Within three (3) months of the end of each plan year the accounts of the scheme shall be audited by auditors appointed by the Board.

(2) The Minister of Finance may require the Controller and Chief Auditor to examine and report on the accounts of the scheme, or any aspect of its operations.

22. Annual report-(1) Within 6 months of the end of every plan year, the Board shall send to the Minister of Finance and the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly a report of its proceedings and operations for that year together with at least 2 copies of its duly audited accounts for that year.

(2) The Minister of Finance shall lay copies of the report and of the audited accounts before the Legislative Assembly within 14 days after he receives them, if the Legislative Assembly is then in session, and if it is not then in session, within 14 days after the commencement of the next session of the Legislative Assembly.

PART VII
Miscellaneous

23. Regulations – The Head of State, acting on the advice of Cabinet, may make such regulations as are necessary or expedient to give full effect to this Act and for its due administration.

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REVISION NOTES 2008

This law has been reviewed in accordance with the powers provided for in section 5 of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008. Some minor amendments of a non-substantive nature have been made to conform to modern drafting styles.

The following amendments have been made to this law since its enactment, and these have been incorporated into this revised law –

Section 2 New subsections (2), (3) and (4) were inserted by the Parliamentary Pension Scheme Amendment Act 2002 (No. 18).

This law has been consolidated and revised by the Attorney General under the authority of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 and is an official version of this Act as at 31 December 2009. It is an offence to publish this Act without approval or to make any unauthorised change to an electronic version of this Act.

Aumua Ming Leung Wai
Attorney General of Samoa

Revised and consolidated under the supervision of Teleiai Lalotoa Sinaalamaimaleula Mulitalo (Parliamentary Counsel)

REVISION NOTES 2008 No. 2

This law has been generally edited as provided for by section 5 of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 - the commencement date has been noted and added after the date of assent.

This law has been consolidated and revised by the Attorney General under the authority of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 and is an official version of this Act as at 31 December 2009. It is an offence to publish this Act without approval or to make any unauthorised change to an electronic version of this Act.

Aumua Ming Leung Wai Attorney General of Samoa Revised under the supervision of Teleiai Lalotoa Sinaalamaimaleula Mulitalo (Parliamentary Counsel).

REVISION NOTES 2009

There were no amendments made to this law since the publication of the Consolidated and Revised Statutes of Samoa 2007.

This law has been revised by the Attorney General under the authority of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 and is an official version of this Act as at 31 December 2009. It is an offence to publish this Act without approval or to make any unauthorised change to an electronic version of this Act.

Aumua Ming Leung Wai Attorney General of Samoa Revised by the Legislative Drafting Division under the supervision of Papalii Malietau Malietoa (Parliamentary Counsel).

REVISION NOTES 2010

The following amendments were made by the Parliamentary Pension Scheme
Amendment Act 2010m, No.20:

Section 2(1)- A new section 2(1) was substituted.

Section 3 - The words "and the regulations" were inserted after the word "this Act".

Section 4 - In subsection (2), the word "Members" was deleted and substituted "Subject to subsection (3), members".

- A new subsection (3) was inserted after subsection (2).

Section 5(a) - A new paragraph (a) was substituted.

Section 9(2) - Reference to "; and the matter shall be considered in the presence of an Alternate Director appointed under section 7" was deleted.

Section 11 - A new section 11 was substituted.

Section 12 - Reference to "(1)" and the words "adopted under section 11" were deleted.

- New paragraphs (a) and (b) were substituted.

- In paragraph (d), the words "surviving spouse of the member" were deleted and substituted "nominee, or if there is no nominee, to a surviving spouse of the member, or if there is no spouse, to the member's next of kin".

- A new paragraph (da) was inserted after paragraph (d).

- In paragraph (g), the words "and the regulations" were inserted after the word "Act".

Section 13 - A new subsection (1) was substituted.
- In subsection (2), the words "to or substitution of, the Plan" were inserted after the word "amendments".

Section 14 - A new paragraph (d) was inserted after paragraph (c).

Section 17 - A new section 17 was substituted.

Section 19 - In subsection (1), the word "plan" was deleted and substituted "policy".

- In subsection (2), reference to "(3) and (4)" was deleted and substituted "(4) and (5)". A new paragraph (d) was inserted after paragraph (c).

- The second reference to "(2)" was deleted and substituted "(3)" so that the subsection becomes subsection (3) instead of subsection (2) as it was before.

- Subsections (3) and (4) were renumbered as (4) and (5) respectively.

Section 20 - A new section 20 was substituted.

Part VII - A new Part VII was substituted.

The Parliamentary Pension Scheme Amendment Act 2010 commenced on 11 October 2010.

This law has been consolidated and revised by the Attorney General under the authority of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 and is an official version of this Act as at 31 December 2010. It is an offence to publish this Act without approval or to make any unauthorised change to an electronic version of this Act.

Aumua Ming Leung Wai Attorney General of Samoa Revised and consolidated by the Legislative Drafting Division under the supervision of Papalii Malietau Malietoa (Parliamentary Counsel).

The Parliamentary Pension Scheme Act 1998 is administered by the Samoa National Provident Fund.