PENSIONS ACT.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS.
Section
2. Appointment of pensions authority.
4. Pensionable service for teachers.
5. Pensionable service for officers in the service of a district administration.
6. Option for an officer who is a member of a pension scheme established by an urban authority.
7. Pensions, etc. charged on and payable out of the Consolidated Fund and other funds.
8. Income tax not to be charged upon pension, etc.
9. Officers entitled to pensions; prohibition of court proceedings.
10. Circumstances in which pension may be granted.
11. Grant of pension, etc. on removal from the service in the public interest.
14. Pensions, etc. may be paid to unconfirmed officer.
15. Grant of pension, etc. on dismissal.
16. Pensions, etc. not to be assignable.
17. Pensions, etc. not subject to attachment on bankruptcy.
18. Pensions, etc. to cease on death.
19. Gratuity where officer dies.
20. Pensions to dependents of officers dying from injuries received or disease contracted on duty.
23. Questions under Act to be determined by pensions authority.
First Schedule Pensions regulations.
Second Schedule Application of the Act and regulations to certain officers of the Government.
Third Schedule Enactments relating to retiring benefits of officers transferred from East African service.
Fourth Schedule Powers not to be delegated.
CHAPTER 286
PENSIONS ACT.
Commencement: 1 January, 1946.
An Act to provide for the grant and regulating of pensions, gratuities and other allowances in respect of the public service of officers under the Government of Uganda.
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
(a) "appointing authority" means the President or any other person or authority responsible for the appointment of a public officer, and includes any other person or authority to whom that power is lawfully delegated;
(b) "Minister" means the Minister responsible for public service;
(c) "other public service" means public service not under the Government;
(d) "overseas addition" means the inducement allowance referred to in clause 3(a) of the agreement contained in the Schedule to the Overseas Service Act, and which is specifically declared to be pensionable;
(e) "Oversea Superannuation Scheme" means the scheme to establish a fund to provide service pensions and gratuities and pensions to dependents on a contributory basis for colonial research and allied services;
(f) "pensionable emoluments"—
(i) in respect of service under the Government subsequent to the 31st"> December, 1953, includes salary, overseas addition, inducement pay and personal allowance, but does not include duty allowance, house allowance, entertainment allowance or any other emoluments;
(ii) in respect of service under the Government between the 1st"> January, 1946, and the 31st"> December, 1953, includes salary and personal allowance, but does not include duty allowance, house allowance, entertainment allowance or any other emoluments;
(iii) for the purpose of calculating the aggregate pensionable emoluments of officers in respect of service under the Government prior to the 1st"> January, 1946, means—
(A) in the case of an officer who prior to the 1st"> January, 1946, held a pensionable office in which he or she had been confirmed, the emoluments which were pensionable under the European Officers' Pensions Ordinance or the Asiatic Officers' Pensions Ordinance, as the case may be; and
(B) in the case of an officer who prior to the 1st"> January, 1946, held a nonpensionable office or a pensionable office in which he or she had not been confirmed—
(I) the emoluments of the office which would have been pensionable emoluments under the European Officers' Pensions Ordinance or the Asiatic Officers' Pensions Ordinance, as the case may be, if the office had been a pensionable office and the officer had been confirmed in it;
(II) if the officer does not come within the provisions of subparagraph (iii)(B)(I) above, the salary of the officer together with any house allowance for which he or she may have been eligible under the terms and conditions of his or her appointment;
(C) in respect of other public service, means emoluments which count for pension in accordance with the law or regulations in force in that service;
(g) "pensionable office" means—
(i) in respect of public service by a person under the Government, an office—
(A) to which he or she has been appointed, on probation or otherwise, by the authority having power for the time being to make appointments to the public service of Uganda on terms which include eligibility for the grant of a pension under this Act or under any Ordinance repealed by this Act; and
(B) which he or she has not ceased to hold on such terms;
(ii) in respect of other public service, an office which is for the time being a pensionable office under the law or regulations in force in the service;
(iii) an office to which a Ugandan national was appointed on probation or otherwise by the authority having power for the time being to make appointments in the East African Community on terms which include eligibility for the grant of a pension under the Pensions Act of the Community and regulations made under it.
(h) "pensions authority" means a public officer of the rank of Permanent Secretary appointed by the Minister;
(i) "personal allowance" means a special addition to salary granted personally to the holder for the time being of the office and which is specifically stated to be pensionable;
(j) "public service" means—
(i) service in a civil capacity under the Government of Uganda or any other country or territory in the Commonwealth or the Republic of Southern Yemen;
(ii) service under the East Africa High Commission, the East African Railways and Harbours Administration or the East African Posts and Telecommunications Administration or under the East African Common Services Organisation, the East African Community, the East African Railways Corporation, the East African Harbours Corporation or the East African Posts and Telecommunications Corporation;
(iii) superannuable service on the staff of Makerere University College, the Royal College, Nairobi, or the University College, Dar es Salaam;
(iv) service which is pensionable—
(A) under the Oversea Superannuation Scheme;
(B) under any Acts relating to the superannuation of teachers in the United Kingdom;
(C) under a local authority in the United Kingdom;
(D) under the administration of a district or an urban authority; or
(E) under the National Health Service of the United Kingdom;
(v) any other service that the pensions authority has determined to be public service for the purposes of this Act;
(vi) except for the purposes of computation of a pension or gratuity and of section 13, service in respect of which a pension may be granted under the Governors' Pensions Act, 1957, of the United Kingdom; and
(vii) service as the holder of the office of President, Vice President, justice of Appeal, registrar, officer or servant of the Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa or the Court of Appeal for East Africa;
(k) "salary" means the salary attached to a pensionable office or, where provision is made for taking service in a nonpensionable office into account as pensionable service, the salary attached to that office;
(l) "service of the Government" or "service under the Government" means public service in a civil capacity under the Government, or where a Ugandan national is concerned, the East African Community, and includes service as a teacher as defined in the Public Service (Teachers) Act and also includes service in a local administration or district administration or an urban authority, where the officer exercises his or her option under section 6;
(m) "teacher" has the meaning assigned to it in the Education Act;
(n) "urban authority" means a city, municipal or town council or town board established by law;
(o) "wife" includes in the case of an officer under whose religion or tribal custom polygamy is lawful any person to whom the officer is lawfully married in accordance with the tenets of that religion or tribal custom; and in any such case, the amount of any pension, gratuity or other allowance for which a wife is eligible under this Act shall be divided equally among all such wives during the period in which there is more than one wife eligible therefore; and "widow" shall be construed accordingly.
(2) For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that where an officer has been confirmed in a pensionable office and is thereafter appointed to another pensionable office, then, unless the terms of that appointment otherwise require, the last-mentioned office is, for the purposes of this Act, an office in which he or she has been confirmed.
(3) Where it appears to the pensions authority that there is no satisfactory proof of the correct age of an officer or of any child, then the pensions authority may, upon such evidence as he or she may think fit, presume the age of the officer or of the child, and the presumed age shall be taken to be the correct age of the officer or of the child for the purposes of this Act.
2. Appointment of pensions authority.
The Minister may, by statutory order, appoint a public officer of the rank of Permanent Secretary to be the pensions authority.
(1) Pensions, gratuities and other allowances may be granted by the pensions authority, in accordance with the regulations contained in the First Schedule to this Act, to officers who have been in the service of the Government.
(2) The Minister may amend the Schedules to this Act and with the approval of Cabinet by statutory instrument, vary the pensions, gratuities or the allowances provided for under the Act or any law made under it.
(3) Whenever the pensions authority is satisfied that it is equitable that any regulation made under this section should have retrospective effect in order to confer a benefit upon or remove a disability attaching to any person, that regulation may be given retrospective effect for that purpose; except that no such regulation shall have retrospective effect unless it has received the prior approval of Parliament signified by resolution.
(4) Any pension or gratuity granted under this Act shall be computed in accordance with the provisions in force at the actual date of an officer's retirement or of his or her death in the public service, as the case may be.
(5) All regulations made under this section shall have the same force and effect as if they were contained in the First Schedule to this Act.
4. Pensionable service for teachers.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act in respect of teachers, only service on or after the 1st"> day of July, 1953, shall be considered as pensionable service, but any period of service in respect of which a teacher would have been eligible for gratuity under the Uganda African Teachers Gratuity Regulations, 1952, or during which a teacher contributed to the Uganda Teachers Provident Fund established under the Uganda Teachers Provident Fund Regulations, 1952, shall be considered as qualifying service.
(2) Any pension granted under this Act to a teacher who has completed a period of previous service in addition to his or her pensionable service shall be increased on and after the 1st"> July, 1953, by one-twelfth of 5 percent for each complete month of previous service.
(3) In this section, "previous service" means service prior to the 1st"> July, 1953, which is qualifying service within the meaning of subsection (1).
5. Pensionable service for officers in the service of a district administration.
(1) For the purposes of this Act, only service on or after the 1st"> day of January, 1954, with respect to officers in the service of the former Buganda Government, and on or after the 1st"> day of January, 1950, in respect of officers in the service of the former Eastern, Western and Northern Provinces shall be taken into account as pensionable service.
(2) This section shall apply only to officers in the service of a district administration.
6. Option for an officer who is a member of a pension scheme established by an urban authority.
(1) An officer who is a member of a pension scheme established by an urban authority in which he or she is serving may, with effect from the date that the pensions authority may determine, opt to be subject to this Act.
(2) Any officer who exercises the option under subsection (1) shall cease to be a member of the pension scheme of the urban authority in which he or she is serving from the date on which he or she exercises that option.
(3) Any pension or other benefit to which the officer may be entitled under the scheme on the date on which he or she exercises the option, and which on that date has not been paid to him or her, shall not become payable to the officer, but he or she shall become eligible for a gratuity or other allowance under this Act.
(4) For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that any pension, gratuity or other allowance granted by the pensions authority to any officer to whom this section applies shall be in addition to, and shall not in any way be affected by, any pension or other benefit to which the officer is entitled under any other pension scheme.
7. Pensions, etc. charged on and payable out of the Consolidated Fund and other funds.
(1) Subject to this section, all pensions, gratuities or other allowances shall be charged on and payable out of the Consolidated Fund without further appropriation than this Act.
(2) All pensions, gratuities or other allowances granted to any Ugandan national under the Pensions Act of the Community shall be charged on and payable out of the Consolidated Fund without further appropriation than this Act.
(3) Any pension, gratuity or other allowance granted under this Act with respect to any officer in the service of a district administration or an urban authority shall be charged on and payable out of the funds of the district administration or urban authority, as the case may be, in which the officer was serving without further authority than this Act.
8. Income tax not to be charged upon pension, etc.
Notwithstanding any provision in any written law to the contrary, no income tax shall be charged upon any pension, gratuity or other allowance granted under this Act.
9. Officers entitled to pensions; prohibition of court proceedings.
(1) Every officer employed in the public service who has qualified for a pension shall be entitled to it.
(2) No proceedings shall be brought in any court on the ground that any provision of this Act has not been complied with.
(3) The question whether the President, the Minister, the pensions authority or any other person or authority has validly exercised any functions under this Act, shall not be inquired into in any court.
10. Circumstances in which pension may be granted.
(1) Except as provided by such regulations as may be made under section 3, no pension, gratuity or other allowance shall be granted under this Act to any officer except on his or her retirement from the public service in one of the following cases—
(a) in—
(i) the case of an officer in the public service on the 16th"> February, 1961, who on that date had attained the age of 45 years, at any time;
(ii) the case of an officer in the public service who is in receipt of overseas addition or who was recruited by the Secretary of State or by the Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations on terms of service which did not include payment of inducement pay or overseas addition, or who is, or was on the 9th"> October, 1962, an officer eligible for vacation leave under paragraph 17(ii), (iii) or (iv) of section C of the Standing Orders for the Uganda Civil Service in force on the 16th"> February, 1961, or who has elected or is deemed to have elected not to accept the new terms of service contained in Government Establishment Instruction No. 4 of 1961, on or after attaining the age of 45 years;
(iii) the case of an officer in the public service on the 16th"> February, 1961, who attained the age of 45 years not later than the 16th"> February, 1962, on or after attaining that age;
(b) in the case of a transfer to other public service, in circumstances in which he or she is permitted by law or regulations of the service in which he or she is last employed to retire on pension or gratuity; provided that if the other public service is superannuated service under the Federated Superannuation System for Universities or under a similar insurance scheme, he or she has retired on one of the grounds mentioned in paragraphs (a), (c), (d) and (e) or, if he or she was transferred to the other public service prior to the 16th"> February, 1961, on or after attaining the age of 45 years;
(c) on the abolition of his or her office;
(d) on compulsory retirement for the purpose of facilitating improvement in the organisation of the department to which he or she belongs, by which greater efficiency or economy may be effected;
(e) on medical evidence, to the satisfaction of the pensions authority, that he or she is incapable by reason of any infirmity of mind or body of discharging the duties of his or her office and that the infirmity is likely to be permanent;
(f) if he or she retires from the public service with the written consent of the President acting on the advice of the Public Service Commission, the Judicial Service Commission or, as the case may be, the Education Service Commission;
(g) on retirement in circumstances not mentioned in the preceding paragraphs of this section, rendering him or her eligible for a pension under the Governors' Pensions Act, 1957, of the United Kingdom or any Act of the United Kingdom amending or replacing that Act,
except that a gratuity may be granted to a female officer, in accordance with this Act, who resigns on or with a view to marriage or is required to retire on account of her marriage, notwithstanding that she is not otherwise eligible under this section for the grant of any pension, gratuity or other allowance.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a pension, gratuity or other allowance shall be paid to an officer who retires on the attainment of the age of 45 years if he or she has served for a continuous period of 10 years or more.
(3) Every officer shall retire from the public service on the attainment of the age of 55; except that an officer who attains the age of 50 may, if he or she wishes, remain in the public service until he or she attains the age of 55 unless the appropriate authority, within six months after the officer attains the age of 50, requires him or her to retire.
(4) For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that the period of six months referred to in subsection (3) or any shorter period thereof shall be taken into account as pensionable service.
(5) Subsections (3) and (4) shall apply to officers who were in the public service at the commencement of the Pensions Act (Amendment) Decree, Decree No. 23 of 1973, on 9th"> November, 1973, and who were still in the public service at the commencement of the Pensions Act (Amendment) Decree, Decree No. 11 of 1977, on 1st"> July, 1977.
11. Grant of pension, etc. on removal from the service in the public interest.
Where an officer is removed from the public service in the public interest and a pension, gratuity or other allowance cannot otherwise be granted to him or her under this Act, the pensions authority shall grant such pension, gratuity or other allowance as it considers to be just and proper, not exceeding in amount that for which the officer would be eligible if he or she retired from the public service in the circumstances described in section 10(1) (e).
(1) An officer shall retire on attaining the age of 60 years.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the President may, acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission, the Judicial Service Commission or, as the case may be, the Education Service Commission, require an officer to retire from the service of the Government—
(a) in the case of an officer referred to in section 10(1)(a)(i), at any time;
(b) in the case of an officer referred to in section 10(1)(a)(ii) and (iii), at any time after the officer attains the age of 45 years;
(c) in any other case, at any time after the officer attains the age of 50 years.
(3) This section shall not apply to a judge of the High Court or of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.
(1) Except in cases provided for by subsection (2), a pension granted to an officer under this Act shall not exceed 87 percent of the highest pensionable emoluments drawn by him or her at any time in the course of his or her service under the Government.
(2) An officer who has been granted a pension in respect of other public service shall not at any time draw from the public funds of Uganda an amount of pension which, when added to the amount of any pensions drawn in respect of other public service exceeds three-quarters of the highest pensionable emoluments drawn by him or her at any time in the course of his or her public service; except that where an officer receives in respect of some period of public service both a gratuity and a pension, the amount of the pension shall be deemed, for the purposes of this subsection to be—
(a) in cases where the laws of the territory in which the public service was performed provided for the payment of an unreduced pension, the amount of pension which would have been awarded had no gratuity been granted; and
(b) in cases where the laws of the territory in which the public service was performed do not provide for the payment of an unreduced pension, such amount as aforesaid plus one-third of the amount.
(3) Where the limitation specified by subsection (2) operates, the amount of the pension to be drawn from the public funds of Uganda shall be determined with due regard to the amount of any pensions to be drawn in respect of other public services.
14. Pensions, etc. may be paid to unconfirmed officer.
(1) Where the appointing authority has appointed an officer to act in a pensionable office and the officer has acted for two years or more but retired or transferred to another service without being confirmed in that office, the rate at which his or her pension shall be calculated shall be that which would apply if he or she had been confirmed in that office, unless he or she has been removed from the office to a junior office before his or her retirement or unless the appointing authority directs otherwise in writing.
(2) Where an officer who is otherwise eligible for a pension has been serving in a pensionable office on a trial appointment but retired or transferred to another service without being confirmed in that office, the rate at which his or her pension shall be calculated shall be that which would apply if he or she had been confirmed in that office.
15. Grant of pension, etc. on dismissal.
Where an officer is dismissed from the public service, the pensions authority may, if he or she thinks fit, grant such pension, gratuity or other allowance as he or she thinks just and proper, not exceeding in amount that for which the officer would be eligible if he or she retired from the public service in the circumstances described in section 10(1) (e).
16. Pensions, etc. not to be assignable.
A pension, gratuity or other allowance granted under this Act shall not be assignable or transferable except for the purposes of satisfying—
(a) a debt due to the Government or a debt relating to tax due under the East African Income Tax Management Act, or any Act amending or replacing it; or
(b) an order of any court for the payment of periodical sums of money towards the maintenance of the wife, or former wife or minor child of the officer to whom the pension, gratuity or other allowance has been granted,
and shall not be liable to be attached, sequestered or levied upon for or in respect of any debt or claim except a debt due to the Government or a debt relating to tax due under the East African Income Tax Management Act, or any Act amending or replacing it.
17. Pensions, etc. not subject to attachment on bankruptcy.
Where any person to whom a pension or other allowance has been granted under this Act is adjudicated bankrupt or is declared insolvent by judgment of any competent court, the officer shall continue to receive the pension, allowance or gratuity, but the pension, allowance or gratuity shall not be subject to attachment under the Bankruptcy Act.
18. Pensions, etc. to cease on death.
(1) Every pension or other allowance granted under this Act, shall, unless it has sooner ceased, cease upon the death of the person to whom it is granted.
(1) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where a person who is in receipt of a pension or other allowance under this Act dies before the expiry of 15 years after the date of his or her retirement, the pensions authority may continue paying the pension or other allowance—
(a) if the deceased pensioner is survived by a spouse, to the spouse, for the unexpired period of the 15 years referred to in this subsection;
(b) if the deceased pensioner is not survived by a spouse or is survived by a spouse to whom no pension is granted, to a child or children while under the age of 18 years, for the unexpired period of the 15 years referred to in this subsection;
(c) if the deceased pensioner is survived by a spouse to whom a pension is granted under paragraph (a) of this subsection and a child or children, and the spouse subsequently dies before the expiry of the remainder of the 15 years referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection, then paragraph (b) of this subsection shall apply.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that a pension granted under this section shall be payable for a period not exceeding in aggregate 15 years from the date of retirement of the deceased pensioner.
19. Gratuity where officer dies.
(1) Where an officer dies while holding a pensionable office and is not on probation or agreement, or while holding a nonpensionable office to which he or she has been transferred from a pensionable office in which he or she has been confirmed, the pensions authority may grant to his or her legal personal representatives—
(a) if the officer had served in the public service for 10 years or less—
(i) a gratuity of an amount not exceeding three times of his or her annual pensionable emoluments; and
(ii) a gratuity of an amount not exceeding five times the annual amount of pension the deceased officer would have been eligible for if his or her period of service had been qualifying service for the purpose of this Act;
(b) if the officer had served in the public service for a period exceeding in the aggregate 10 years—
(i) either a gratuity of an amount not exceeding triple his or her annual pensionable emoluments or his or her commuted pension gratuity, if any, whichever is the greater; and
(ii) a reduced pension as provided in regulation 30 of the regulations contained in the First Schedule to this Act whether commuted pension gratuity under paragraph (b)(i) of this subsection is payable or not; and for the purpose of granting a pension under this subparagraph—
(A) if the deceased officer is survived by a spouse, pension shall be payable to the surviving spouse for a period not exceeding 15 years from the date of death of the officer;
(B) if the deceased officer leaves a child or children but does not leave a spouse or leaves a spouse to whom pension is not granted, pension shall be payable to the child or children for a period not exceeding 15 years while the child or children are under the age of 18 years;
(C) if the deceased officer leaves any child and a spouse to whom a pension is granted under subparagraph (ii)(A) of this paragraph, and the spouse subsequently dies within 15 years from the date of death of the officer, the provisions of subparagraph (ii)(B) of this paragraph shall apply for the unexpired period of the 15 years;
(D) if the deceased pensioner is survived by more than one wife or child, the amount of any pension, gratuity or other allowance shall be divided equally among the wives or children;
(E) a pension granted under subsection (1)(b)(ii) shall not be payable for a period exceeding, in aggregate, 15 years.
(2) Where any such officer who has been granted or who has become eligible for a pension under this Act dies after retirement from the service of the Government, and the sums paid or payable to him or her between the date of his or her retirement and the date of his or her death on account of any pension or gratuity in respect of his or her service under the Government and under any scheduled Government (excluding any additional pension awarded in accordance with regulation 29(3)(b) of the Pensions Regulations) are less than triple the amount of his or her annual pensionable emoluments or, if greater, the commuted pension gratuity for which he or she would be eligible under subsection (1) had he or she died on the date of his or her retirement, the pensions authority may grant to his or her legal personal representatives a gratuity equal to the deficiency.
(3) This section shall not apply in the case of the death of any officer where benefits corresponding to the benefits which may be granted under this section are payable under the Oversea Superannuation Scheme in respect of such death.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Administrator General's Act or in any written law relating to estate duty, no gratuity granted under this section shall be subject to the payment of the Administrator General's fees or of estate duty.
(5) For the purposes of this section—
(a) "annual pensionable emoluments" means the emoluments which would be taken for the purpose of computing the grant of any pension or gratuity to the officer if he or she had retired at the date of his or her death in the circumstances prescribed in section 10(1)(e);
(b) "commuted pension gratuity" means the gratuity, if any, which might have been granted to the officer under regulation 29 of the Regulations contained in the First Schedule to this Act if his or her service under any scheduled Government had been wholly in Uganda and he or she had retired on the day following the date of his or her death in the circumstances described in section 10(1)(e), and had received a reduced pension and a gratuity equal to 15 times one-third of the pension which he or she might have been granted on the day following the date of his or her death;
(b) "scheduled Government" has the same meaning as in regulation 12 of the Regulations contained in the First Schedule to this Act.
(6) For the purposes of this section, an officer who has not been confirmed in his or her office and who dies in the circumstances mentioned in section 20(1) shall be deemed to have been confirmed in his or her office.
20. Pensions to dependents of officers dying from injuries received or disease contracted on duty.
(1) Where as a result of—
(a) injuries received in the actual discharge of, and specifically attributable to the nature of, his or her duty and which are not wholly or mainly due to, or seriously aggravated by, his or her own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct; or
(b) contracting a disease to which he or she is specifically exposed by the nature of his or her duties, not being a disease wholly or mainly due to, or seriously aggravated by, his or her own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct,
an officer dies within seven years of the date of the injury or the contracting of the disease, the pensions authority may grant, in addition to the grant, if any, made to his or her legal personal representative under section 19—
(c) if the deceased officer leaves a widow, a pension to her, while unmarried and of good character, at a rate not exceeding ten-fiftieths of his annual pensionable emoluments at the date of the injury;
(d) if the deceased officer leaves a widow to whom a pension is
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