COLOMBO – The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection has unanimously approved a Bill to abolish pension benefits for Members of Parliament, Committee Chair and MP Najith Indika announced on Thursday (12).
He said the proposal received the full backing of the Committee at its recent meeting, describing the move as a fulfilment of a key promise made in the government’s policy statement.
“One of the proposals we presented in our policy statement was to abolish the pension granted to MPs after serving a few years in Parliament,” he said, noting that the approval of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection was unanimous.
Scheduled to be taken up for debate and vote next week, the proposed legislation seeks to repeal the Parliamentary Pensions Act No. 1 of 1977, which currently provides pension entitlements to lawmakers after five years of service. If passed in Parliament as anticipated, Members of Parliament will no longer qualify for a pension upon completion of their tenure.
MP Indika said the reform would redefine parliamentary service as a purely public duty rather than a pathway to long-term financial benefit.
“After this, parliamentary service will be carried out purely as a public service. We believe this is a very important step in terms of political culture and in fulfilling the promises we made ahead of the election,” he said, adding, “Through measures like this, we are clearly demonstrating the direction in which we are moving and how we intend to move forward.”
-ENCL
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