Mauritius
Sugar Industry Pension Fund Act
Act 42 of 1955
- Commenced on 31 December 1955
- [This is the version of this document at 30 June 2017.]
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Sugar Industry Pension Fund Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act—"actuary" means an actuary approved by the Board;"artisan" includes a skilled workman belonging to a prescribed category;"Board" means the Sugar Industry Pension Fund Board referred to in section 19;"Committee" has the same meaning as in the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund Act;"employee" means a person employed by the month by an employer;"employer" means—(a)a person that is the owner or lessee of a sugar estate;(b)a sugar broker;(c)the Board;(d)the Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture;(e)the Mauritius Sugar Syndicate;(f)—(g)the Mauritius Cane Industry Authority;(h)a person that is the owner or lessee of a distillery or of any other plant processing by-products of sugar or sugar cane;(ha)the successors and assignees of the persons referred to in paragraphs (a) to (e), (g) and (h);(i)a sequestrator appointed by the Supreme Court under section 129 of the Sale of Immovable Property Act for the management and administration of a sugar estate, distillery or concern processing any by-products of sugar or sugar cane;(j)such other person directly concerned with the sugar industry as the Board may approve;"Fund" means the Sugar Industry Pension Fund established under section 3;"insuring employer" means an employer other than the Sugar Industry Retiring Fund who, at 1 January 1956, had already been operating a pension fund in favour of his employees for 3 years or more;"labourer" means a workman other than an artisan;"member" means an employee who is a member of, or is receiving a pension, gratuity, or other allowance under, the Fund;"normal pension age" means the age of 60;"personal VAC account" means an individual account in the name of an employee who makes voluntary additional contribution;"Rules"—(a)means the Sugar Industry Pension Fund Rules; and(b)includes the tables in the First and Second Schedules;"salary"—(a)means the basic monthly salary or wage, as the case may be, payable to an employee, monthly or otherwise; but(b)does not include any payment representing cost of living or other allowance, share of profits, commission in lieu of salary or wage, temporary increase of salary or wage, or other occasional receipts, or any fees payable to any person carrying on a professional practice;"service" means service as an employee;"specified worker" means a labourer or artisan governed by the Sugar Industry (Agricultural Workers) (Remuneration Order) Regulations 1983 and the Sugar Industry (Non-Agricultural Workers) (Remuneration Order) Regulations 1985, respectively;"Specified Workers Gratuity Fund" means the fund referred to in section 4B;"staff employee" means an employee who is neither an artisan nor a labourer;"sugar estate" means—(a)a sugar factory;(b)any sugar cane estate with a factory; or(c)any sugar cane estate without a factory,which cultivates at least 100 arpents under sugar cane, any land temporarily under other crops being reckoned as being under sugar cane;"VAC" means the voluntary additional contribution made by an employee;"VAC Fund" means the voluntary additional contribution fund referred to in section 4A;"voluntary additional contribution" means the voluntary contribution made by an employee under section 4A;"wage" has the same meaning as "salary".[S. 2 amended by Act 25 of 2000; s. 28 (a) of Act 20 of 2002 w.e.f. 10 August 2002; s. 53 (a) of Act 18 of 2016 w.e.f. 7 September 2016.]3. Sugar Industry Pension Fund
4. Membership of Fund
4A. Voluntary additional contribution
4B. Specified Workers Gratuity Fund
5. ***
6. Pensions or gratuities
6A. Pension liability of Fund
6B. Recourse to assets of Fund
Without prejudice to section 6A, the creditors of an employer shall be entitled to have recourse to the assets of the Fund to the extent that the assets are attributable to the employer.[S. 6B inserted by s. 53 (c) of Act 18 of 2016 w.e.f. 7 September 2016.]7. Constitution of Fund
Subject to this Act and the Rules, the Fund shall consist of—8. ***
9. Contributions to Fund
9A. Keeping of accounts
The Board shall, in respect of every employer, keep or cause to be kept separate and in a manner that is separately identifiable—10. Payment of contributions
11. Privilege of Board
12. Date of payment
The employers' and employees' contributions shall become payable as from 1 January 1956.13. Special contribution
14. Labour Welfare Fund Committee
15. ***
16. ***
17. ***
18. Costs of management of Fund
19. Management of Fund
20. The Board
21. Legal proceedings
The Board shall, in all legal proceedings, be represented by its Chairperson, and the service of any document by or on the Chairperson or on the Secretary shall constitute good and effectual service by or upon the Board, as the case may be.22. ***
23. Investment of Fund
23A. Inscription of mortgage
Notwithstanding any other enactment, the inscription taken by the Board to secure payment of any loan, together with interest and other liabilities in respect of it, made by the Board under this Act, need not be renewed, but shall continue to have full force and effect without any such renewal until the complete extinction and payment of such loan, interest and liabilities.24. Protection of members
No member of the Board shall be liable for any loss arising from or contingent upon any investment made in accordance with section 23 unless the loss has been occasioned by willful negligence or fraud.25. Protection of individuals
No member of the Board, and no person acting under the authority of the Board, shall be personally liable to any action or proceeding for or in respect of any act, matter or thing, bona fide done or omitted to be done in the exercise or supposed exercise of any of the rights or powers of the Board or of the members of the Board.26. Annual reports and accounts
27. Audit of accounts
28. Members' records
29. Changes in wage grades
Changes in salary or wage grades so far as they affect rates of contribution or amounts of pension shall only become effective on 1 January and 1 July following or coincident with the change in salary or wage grade.30. Non-qualifying service
No pension, gratuity or other allowance shall be granted to a member in respect of any service while he is—31. Grant of pensions
Subject to sections 37 and 41, no pension shall be granted to a member except on his retirement from service on or after reaching normal pension age.32. Retirement on reaching 60
33. Rate of pension
33A. Retirement gratuity payable to specified workers
The retirement gratuity payable from the account of the employer in the Specified Workers Gratuity Fund to a retiring specified worker shall be determined by the Board on the advice of the actuary.[S. 33A inserted by s. 28 (g) of Act 20 of 2002 w.e.f. 10 August 2002.]34. Gratuity and reduced pensions
35. Past service pensions
36. Conversion of balances of associates
37. Resignation before 60
38. Computation of years of service
For the purpose of computing the time of service of a member, any intermediate period spent by the member in the armed forces or any other war service, or in studying for a professional or technical degree approved by the Board, shall be considered as service for purposes of the Fund.39. ***
40. ***
41. Pension in case of ill-health
42. Death before retirement
43. Death after retirement
44. Payment to widow
Notwithstanding any other enactment, where the total amount payable as a lump sum under section 37 or 42 does not exceed 100,000 rupees—45. Transfers
46. Actuarial valuation
47. Readjustment
All pensions, gratuities, or other allowances to members or to all persons legally entitled whether in possession or reversion, shall be liable to such readjustment, according to the financial position of the Fund, as may be found necessary in accordance with section 46.47A. Funding of pension liabilities
47B. Pension liabilities on transfer of undertaking, amalgamation, merger, consolidation or cessation of business
48. Protection of Fund money
No money paid into the Fund, no interest on it, no pension, no gratuity and no other allowance shall be capable of being assigned, transferred, ceded, pledged or delegated, nor shall money, interest, pension, gratuity or other allowance be liable to be attached, arrested or levied on, for or in respect of any debt or claim due by any employee who is a member.49. Winding up of Fund
The Fund may be wound up at any time in the event of a general meeting of the employers and employees resolving on such winding up by a three-quarter majority.50. Realisation of Fund and distribution
Where it is decided to wind up the Fund under section 49, the investments shall be sold, and the whole of the sum available shall be divided among members pro rata to their interest in the Fund.51. Regulations
The Board may make such regulations as it thinks fit for the purposes of this Act, and may vary or amend the Schedules and the Rules.52. Exemptions
History of this document
30 June 2017 this version
Consolidation
31 December 1955
Commenced