July MVR 123 million was given out as pension last month.

As per the statistics publicized by the Maldives Pension Administration Office, most of this was issued as basic pension; over MVR 90 million to 19,107 pensioners.

Basic Pension is a lifetime pension benefit given to Maldivians who have aged 65 years and above. The main objective of the basic pension scheme is to provide citizens who are retired and do not receive enough from their retirement pension with enough money to fulfil their basic needs.

Over MVR seven million was issued as Retirement Pension to 1,444 individuals; the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme (MRPS) was introduced by Defined-Contributions (DC) under the law. DC invests a certain amount of money declared by the employer and the employee to the MRPS.

Further, state allowances were provided for pensioners from state institutions and government offices as well; over MVR 19 million to 4,155 individuals. More than MVR five million was distributed to 3,078 persons as other retirement benefits.

Maldives Pension Administration Office was founded on 13th May 2009 as an independent establishment after the law on pensions was passed. Apart from the retirement pension, all pension and allowances are provided through the state budget.