Finance Ministry proposes to amend presidential retirement benefits

Finance Ministry of the Maldives has proposed to the Parliament to amend and alter the presidential retirement benefits.

The Ministry stated that the proposal was submitted to the Parliament last week but did not disclose any further details of the amendments.

The government is working to reduce state expenses in every possible way as the country battles against the pandemic virus. High earning positions of the government have seen a substantial reduction of 20 to 30 percent in terms of wages. The wage cuts in no means, affect frontline staff and low-level employees of the government.

By law, former Presidents in the Maldives are entitled to:

• Financial endowment: MVR 75,000
• Accommodation: MVR 10,000
• Office operations: MVR 87,000

A significant amount of money is spent on presidential retirement benefits every month. MVR 15 million is allocated in the state budget for the expenses of former presidents.