Chairperson, hon members, the Special Pensions Amendment Bill before the House today extends the pensions and funeral benefits provided for under the Special Pensions Act of 1996 to a wider group of deserving persons and their survivors.
The House will recall that the Special Pensions Act, Act 69 of 1996, gave effect to section 189 of the Interim Constitution of 1993 in that it provides for the payment of pensions to persons who made sacrifices or served the public interest in establishing a nonracial, democratic constitutional order and, as a result, were unable to or prevented from providing for pensions for a significant period, and for the repayment of certain benefits to their survivors.
Amendments to the Act were passed again in 1998, 2003 and 2005. The amendments primarily increased benefits, improved accessibility of benefits and addressed technical and implementation difficulties.
Despite these amendments, however, inequities remain a cause for concern in the treatment of pensioners and survivors. The Special Pensions Amendment Bill is aimed at alleviating and, where possible, removing these inequities within available resources whilst remaining true to the spirit and intent of section 189 of the Interim Constitution.
The Bill contains three significant amendments to achieve this. Firstly, an amendment is proposed to extend the right to a pension to persons who were thirty years of age on 1 December 1996, but not yet thirty-five years of age. This will be paid retrospectively from 1 April 2001, which means that it will be paid with effect from the year before a recipient would have turned thirty-five.
The revised age criterion of thirty is informed by the fact that in qualifying for a pension, an applicant would have had to be at least nineteen in 1985. The age of nineteen in '85 appears to be reasonable, taking into account that in general working people typically begin providing for a pension at about the age of twenty-five and often later.
It should be noted that applications for this benefit must be made by 31 December 2010. It's clearly necessary to expedite this process because the longer the delays in dealing with these matters, the greater the risk of loss of information, contestation about entitlement and exposure of the fiscus to fraudulent applications.
Secondly, the Bill introduces a monthly pension and a funeral benefit for the surviving spouses and orphans of, firstly, persons who receive the survivor's lump sum benefit in terms of the Special Pensions Act because of the death of a person during the struggle; and secondly, persons who were thirty but under thirty-five on 1 December 1996 and who died prior to the date on which the amending Act takes effect. The qualifying spouse would often be entitled to receive these benefits on application, and if the application is approved, from the date on which the application was made.
Thirdly, an amendment to Schedule 3 of the Act that provides for the levels of pensions payable, is also proposed. The amendment clarifies the amount that will be paid to persons in the various age categories.
The Act originally drafted provisions for three levels of pensions up to the age of sixty, dependent on age as at 1 December 1996. The amendment will now allow persons aged between thirty and fifty in December '96 to migrate to the fifty to sixty-five category, once they attain the age of fifty, and for persons in the fifty to sixty-five category on 1 December '96 to migrate to the sixty-five and older category, once they have attained the age of sixty-five.
The anticipated local cost associated with the amendments is R3,7 billion in net present-value terms. The cost associated with the amendments refunded through annual appropriations over the next three years is expected to amount to roughly R500 million a year.
Finally, the Bill proposes several amendments to improve on the administration of the Act. National Treasury is made responsible for administering the Act, and a new appeals board is provided for. The Minister is further empowered to designate another department, government component or public entity to administer the Act in the place of National Treasury, should this be deemed appropriate.
In closing, let me reiterate that the purpose of the Special Pensions Act is to provide for the payment of a pension to persons who've made sacrifices or served the public interest in establishing a nonracial, democratic constitutional order and as a result were unable to or prevented from providing for a pension for a significant period and for the payment of certain benefits to their survivors.
It is trusted that this Bill enhances the purpose and honours the intended spirit of the Interim Constitution that led to the Special Pensions Act.
Again it sounds like a record now, but I'd like to convey my sincerest thanks and that of the Deputy Minister and the department to the Portfolio Committee on Finance, under the chairpersonship and steady hand of the hon Nhlanhla Nene. I would, on this occasion, also like to extend our very sincere appreciation to hon H Fazzie, who attended the hearings on this matter with so much diligence, with his cane in hand.
The committee constantly provides insightful views of the piece of legislation placed before it for consideration.
I hereby request that the House pass the Special Pensions Amendment Bill, 2008. Thank you. [Applause.]