Two controversial bills, notably the Judges Salaries and Pension Bill and the Retiring Allowances Legislative Amendment Bill were passed in the House of Representatives (Government and Opposition) on June 13.In response to the backlash, the Prime Minister quickly announced that the Government has put the bills on hold until all "perspectives and opinions are ventilated."
I am not a constitutional expert to determine whether the Salaries Review Commission (SRC) has jurisdiction or not regarding pensions of retired judges and parliamentarians. However, as reported in the print media, a cursory glance of examples of the pensions (funded by taxpayers) that would be applicable, upon presidential assent, for ex-parliamentarians reveal some interesting figures:
�2 Eight years but less than ten–$30,000 monthly
�2 Four years but less than eight–$20,000 monthly
I have looked at the comparative analysis of a teacher who retires after ten years service and earned a salary of $12,000 a month–15 per cent of that monthly income would be applied to calculate his/her monthly pension. This works out to be the mammoth sum of $1,800 monthly for the rest of his/her life.The words of English author Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) resonate in my mind: "The pleasures of the rich are bought with the tears of the poor."