Agra Hara to 480,000 pensioners

Ravi LADDUWAHETTY

The National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF) will shortly extend the Agra Hara Health Insurance Policy to 480,000 plus retirees till the end of their lifetime.

The scheme which was hitherto in operation was, that the terms of the policy ended on retirement at 60 years.

A joint Cabinet memorandum will be submitted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Finance Minister and John Seneviratne as Public Administration Minister, seeking approval for the extension of the policy to last the lifetime of the retirees, unlike now where it lapses with their retirement, NITF Chairman Senaka Abeygoonesekera told Daily News yesterday. The extension is targeted for October 8, coinciding with Pensioners’ Day.

These retirees would have the same monthly Rs. 75 that they were once paying while in service, deducted from their pensions and they will be, like before, entitled to Rs. 100,000 per annum for hospitalization and a further Rs. 350,000 per annum for cardiac surgery, in their lifetime, he said.

The backdrop to the extension of the Agra Hara scheme had been a sequel to appeals made by the trade unions related to pensions had with the NITF chairman and also deliberations that the latter had with the Pensions Department Director General K. Thilakaratne. A decision was made to draft the Cabinet memorandum asking approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to extend the facility.

Meanwhile, the NITF has insured 84,000 tea smallholders, who come under the “The Shakthi” umbrella in the eight tea growing districts and a further 14,000 employees of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.