Pension for army personnel too

Disna Mudalige

All ranks of army personnel and officers who served until December 31, 2009 are entitled to a pension of 85 percent of the consolidated salary, Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) Director General Lakshman Hulugalle said.

Addressing a press conference at the MCNS yesterday, he said that ration allowance and the allowance calculated upon the qualifications of the army personnel are also included in the pension of the army personnel.

“Army personnel are entitled to 120 percent pension of their salary with this inclusion, he said.

Hulugalle said that even a public servant who served 35 years are entitled only to 80 percent of their consolidated salary as the pension.

”No allowance is included when calculating their pension. However, the President considering the 24 hour service rendered without overtime allowances by army personnel bestowed a high percentage of pension to them, as a tribute for their dedication towards the motherland,” he said.

Hulugalle said that President as the Defence Minister presented a Cabinet paper in 2008 to increase the pension of army personnel by 15 percent.

Accordingly, the pension of all army officers and other rankers was raised upto 85 percent from 70 percent. This Cabinet paper came into effect since January 1, 2010.

The director general made these observations refuting DNA MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s statement in Parliament on Thursday in which he requested the government to bestow an unimpaired pension to army personnel stating that there are certain problems in the way it is calculated.

Hulugalle observed that this statement was incorrect and misleading the public. “The JVP is trying to create misconceptions for political gains since they are out of slogans these days.

The government has taken every possible measure to ensure the future security of tri forces,” he noted.

Army Media spokesman Major General Ubaya Medawela noted that the pension hike given to the army personnel is an important step to recognize their dedication of time, privacy and labour to save the country.