OLD AGE PENSIONS REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 318.01

OLD AGE PENSIONS REGULATIONS

2nd August, 1948

GOVERNMENT NOTICE 443 of 1948, as amended by Emergency

Ordinance VI of 1958, Ordinance XXV of 1962, and Act XLIV of 1965.

The title of these regulations is the Old Age Pensions

Regulations.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Act" means the Social Security Act;

"claim" means a claim to a pension;

"claimant" means a person by whom or on whose behalf a claim

has been made;

"pension" means an old age pension under the Act;

"pensioner" means a person in receipt of a pension.

(1) Any notice or other intimation requires or authorised to

be sent for the purposes of these regulations shall be in writing.

(2) Any notice or other intimation and any document required

or authorised to be sent to any person for the purposes of these

regulations shall be deemed to have been duly sent if transmisted

by post, addressed to that person at his last known ordinary

address.

For the purpose of the Act and of these regulations, such

forms shall be used as the Minister may from time to time direct.

(1) Every person who desires to make a claim must fill in

and sign a form of claim and deliver or send it to the Director of

Social Services or to such other officer as may be designated by the

Minister for the purpose. Where a claim is not duly completed and

signed when so received it shall none the less be treated as a valid

claim, if it is returned duly completed and signed within one month

of the date on which it was returned to the claimant for completion.

(2) An illiterate person or a person who through physical

causes is unable to write shall cause the form of claim to be filled

in, and he shall then mark the form of claim so filled in, or, if

physically unable to do so, shall cause it to be marked on his

behalf.

(3) The Minister shall furnish to every Police station and

office of the Ministry printed forms of claim, and every officer in

charge of such station or office shall, on application being made to

him for the purpose, supply a form of claim gratis to any person

who desires to make a claim.

(4) Every such officer shall, if any person who desires to make

a claim request him so to do, give to that person such information

and such assistance in filling in the form of claim as is in his power

to give and as may be necessary to enable that person to fill in the

form properly.

(1) The Director of Social Services shall keep a register of

all claims referred to him, and forthwith on receiving any claim

shall, subject to these regulations, cause the claim to be registered.

He shall cause each claim to be numbered in such manner as may

be directed by the Minister from time to time.

(2) The Director of Social Services shall also keep proper

records of every decision on or in reference to any claim entered in

his register, or on or in reference to any question raised in

connection with any pension allowed on any such claim, or on or in

reference to any application made for the revocation or alteration of

the provisional allowance of a claim.

As soon as may be after receiving any claim, the Director

of Social Services shall take all necessary steps for investigating

and ascertaining whether the claimant in entitled to a pension, and,

if so, at what rate

Provided that -

(a) where a claim made by the claimant within the

previous six months has been disallowed and the

claimant does not show prima facie to the satisfaction

of the Director of Social Services that the grounds for

that disallowance are no longer tenable; or

(b) where a claim on the face of it discloses that the

claimant does not fulfill the statutory conditions,

the Director of Social Services shall not be bound to investigate the

claim.

For the purposes of determining the age of any person,

regard may be had to any of the following, namely

certificate of birth;

certificate of baptism;

any other evidence which appears sufficient for the

purpose.

(1) The Director of Social Services shall give his decision

on each claim as soon as may be, and on having done so shall

forthwith send notice thereof to the claimant.

(2) In each case of disallowance of a claim, the notice of the

decision to be sent to the claimant shall state the grounds of the

disallowance.

In each case of allowance of a claim, the Director of Social

Services shall establish the weekly rate of pension to which the

claimant is entitled and shall specify that rate in the notice of his

decision.

(1) If it appears to any person that although for the time

being he is not entitled to any pension he will nevertheless become

entitled to a pension at some future date, he may make a claim at

any tine not longer than three months before that future date.

(2) If the Director of Social Services is satisfied that the

claimant is likely to be entitled to a pension at any time within

three months of the date on which the claim has been received by

the Director of Social Services, he may allow the claim

provisionally so that it will take effect on a stated future date not

later than three months from the date of the receipt of the claim by

the Director of Social Services.

(1) If a person desires to raise any question as to the

fulfillment or the continued fulfillment of the statutory conditions,

or as to the disqualification of a pensioner, or as to the rate or a

pension, or as to the receipt at any time by a person of a pension

when that person was not entitled to receive a pension, or a pension

at that rate, or to make an application for the alteration or

revocation of the provisional allowance of a claim for a pension,

that person may do so by sending to the Director of Social Services

a written statement of the question or written application as the

case may be, together with a summary of any evidence in support

of his allegations, and the Director of Social Services shall

investigate, and, subject to the provisions of this regulation, treat

the question or application in the same manner, mutatis mutandis,

as he is by these regulations required to treat a claim

Provided that the Director of Social Services shall not be

bound to investigate the question or the application in any case in

which -

(a) the evidence adduced by the person in support of the

allegations made is not, in the opinion of the Director

of Social Services, substantial; or

(b) less than six months have elapsed since the pension

was granted or since a similar question was

determined.

(2) Where under the provisions of the Act, payment of a

pension is discontinued upon the raising of a question as to the

disqualification of the pensioner, the Director of Social Services

shall notify the pensioner of the alleged reaasons for

disqualification and that payment of the pension will be suspended

pending the decision of the question.

(3) If it appears at any time that a pensioner who is in receipt

of a pension at a certain rate will at some future date become

entitled to a pension at a higher or at a lower rate, a question as to

the rate at which the pension should be paid as from that future date

may be raised at any time not longer that three months before that

future date, and if the Director of Social Services is satisfied that

the pension will become payable at a different rate at any time

within three months from the date on which the question is raised,

the Director of Social Services may provisionally determine that

the pension shall, as from a stated date, not being more than three

months later than the date on which the question is raised, be paid

at a stated different rate, and any such provisional determination

shall as from the stated date unless previously revoked or altered

take effect according to the terms thereof.

For the purpose of determining any claim, question, or

application which is to be determined by him, the Director of

Social Services may have regard to any such evidence or

information as in his opinion is sufficient for the purpose, and is, in

his opinion, the best evidence or information which it is reasonably

possible to obtain.

The Director of the Public Registry shall, once in every

week, send to the Director of Social Services a return, in such form

as the Minister may decide, of all deaths of persons of the age of

sixty years or upwards which have been registered by him in the

week immediately preceding that to which the return relates.

(1) Subject as hereinafter provided, pensions shall be paid

to the pensioner at such office of the Ministry as the Director of

Social Services any from time to time determine.

(2) In respect of every decision under which a pension

becomes or continues to be payable, the Director of Social Services

shall cause to be sent to the pensioner written authority to draw the

pension, and an intimation of the arrangements for the payment of

that pension in so far as they affect the pensioner.

(3) The pensioner shall furnish periodically a written

statement, in such form and at such times as the Director of Social

Services may determine, with respect to the pension continuing to

be payable to him; the provisions contained in regulation 5 shall, in

so far as applicable, apply to such statements.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in this regulation, the Director

of Social Services may in any particular case arrange for the

payment of the pension otherwise than through an office of the

Ministry.

Upon the death of a person entitled to a pension, any

person having possession or thereafter obtaining possession of a

written authority to draw that pension shall deliver to the Director

of Social Services the authority issued under regulation 15(2).

(1) In this regulation and in regulation 18, unless the

context otherwise requires, "sum payable on death" means -

(a) in the case of the death of a pensioner, any sum which

became payable on account of the pension within the

three months preceding the date of death but has not

been paid; or

(b) in the case of the death of a claimant of a pension, any

sum which, if the claim had been allowed immediately

before his death, would have become payable on

account of the pension up to the date of death.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Act but subject

to the provisions of these regulations, the Director of Social

Services may, if a claim to a sum payable on death is made to him

within three months of the death of the pensioner or, as the case

may be, of the claimant of the pension, make payment of the sum

payable on death.

(1) On the death of any pensioner or, as the case may be,

of any claimant to a pension, any sum payable on death in respect

of that person may be paid or distributed by the Director of Social

Services even if judicial declaration of the opening of succession

or other proof of the title of the beneficiaries under the succession

of the deceased is not available, but nothing herein contained shall

authorise the Director of Social Services, where he has not already

made payment of the sum payable on death, to refuse payment of

such sum to any person entitled thereto who produces proof of title.

(2) Where the sum payable on death is payable to persons

appearing to the Director of Social Services to be beneficially

entitled thereto under any will or other testamentary instrument, the

sum payable on death may be paid to or distributed among such of

the persons aforesaid as the Director of Social Services thinks

proper and such payment or distribution shall be to the exclusion of

payment to all others but without prejudice to any remedy which

such others may have for recovery in whole or in part of the sums

so paid or distributed as aforesaid against the person or persons

who received payment.

(3) If a pensioner or, as the case may be, a claimant of a

pension dies intestate, any sum payable on death in respect of that

person may be paid or distributed by the Director of Social Services

to or among such persons as appear to him, upon such evidence

submitted to him as he may deem satisfactory, to be beneficially

entitled to receive that sum, whether as next of kin or otherwise

according to law or as creditors of the funeral expenses or

death-bed expenses of the deceased person, or may be paid to or

distributed among such of the persons aforesaid as the Director of

Social Services thinks proper and such payment or distribution

shall be to the exclusion of payment to all others

Provided that, in the case of illegitimacy of the pensioner

or, as the case may be, of the claimant of the pension or of any

child of his, such person as in the opinion of the Director of Social

Services would have been entitled to the sum payable on death if

the deceased person or any child of his had been legitimate, may

for the purposes of this proviso be treated as a person beneficially

entitled thereto.

(4) Where any person who is a minor is entitled to receive any

sum payable on death in accordance with the provisions of this

regulation and it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director of

Social Services that that sum is needed for the benefit of such child,

the Director of Social Services may pay that sum or any part

thereof to any person who may satisfy him that the recipient will

apply such money for the benefit of such child, and the receipt of

such recipient shall be a good discharge to the Director of Social

Services for the sum so paid.

(5) Upon making any payment in accordance with the

provisions contained in this regulation, the Director of Social

Services shall be discharged from all liability in respect of any sum

or sums so paid.

When a pensioner is liable to repay any sums due under the

provisions of the Act, and the Minister directs that those sums or

any part of them be deducted from the sums to which that person

will become entitled on account of a pension, the deduction shall be

made by withholding, as the Director of Social Services shall deem

fit, either the whole or a part of the payments on account of the

pension until the total of the sums withheld amounts to the total of

the sums so directed to be deducted.

(1) Where any person, being either a person who is

alleged to be entitled to a pension or a claimant of a pension or a

pensioner, is by reason of any mental or other incapacity unable to

act and his estate is not being administered by any tutor, curator, or

other guardian acting or appointed in terms of law, an application

to the Director of Social Services may be made in accordance with

the provisions of this regulation for the appointment of an

administrator (whether he be the applicant or some other person) to

exercise on behalf of the person unable to act any right to which

that person may be entitled under the Act, and to receive on behalf

and for the benefit of that person any sum which may become

payable to that person by way or on account of a pension.

(2) On receipt of any such application as aforesaid, if the

Director of Social Services is satisfied that the person proposed to

be appointed is a fit and proper person to act for the purposes of

this regulation on behalf of the person unable to act and is willing

so to act the Director of Social Services may appoint the person

proposed accordingly

Provided that -

(a) no person being an officer or servant of the Ministry

and no person under eighteen years of age shall be

capable of being appointed to act under this regulation;

and

(b) the Director of Social Services may at any time in his

absolute discretion revoke any appointment made

under this regulation; and

(c) any person appointed under this regulation, may, on

giving the Director of Social Services one month’s

notice of his intention so to do, resign his office.

For the purpose of these regulations and in connection with

the lawful discharge of his duties under the regulations, the

Director of Social Services shall have the power to administer an

oath to any person.

The Superintendent or other person in charge of a

state-owned or state-subsidized hospital or institution for old

persons shall render to the Director of Social Services a return, in

such form as the Minister may decide, in respect of each person

who has attained the age of sixty years who is admitted as an

inmate to the hospital or institution or discharged therefrom, and in

respect of each inmate who attains the age of sixty years whilst an

inmate a return shall similarly be rendered by the Director of

Prisons in respect of any such person detained in prison in

pursuance of an order made on his conviction for an offence and

OLD AGE PENSIONS

directing him to be imprisoned without the option of a fine or to

suffer any greater punishment.