Entire Workforce Should Participate in Pension Scheme to Make it Sustainable – President Nasheed

In this week’s radio address that was broadcast this morning, President Mohamed Nasheed highlighted the importance of the entire workforce in the country participating in the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme.

The Pension Act makes it mandatory for each person between the ages of 16 and 65 in the workforce to participate in the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme.

As stated in the Act, the Maldives retirement Pension Scheme operate as contributory scheme to which each employee and employer contribute 7 percent each of the employee’s pensionable wage to the scheme.

Noting the contributory nature of the scheme, the President said it was important for the entire workforce to participate in the scheme to make it sustainable.

Emphasizing the need for everyone’s participation in the scheme, the President said:

“I cannot see how the scheme, that is beneficial for so many people in this country, could run properly without the participation of the president in it.”

Drawing attention to 1 May 2011 deadline for employers other than the state to participate in the scheme, the President called on all private employers to register in the scheme.

He underscored that pension scheme was a mechanism that guaranteed social protection for participants after their retirement from paid work.

Therefore, urged all employers to register themselves in the scheme to ensure their employees received the pension they were entitled to.

In accordance with the Pension Act, all the employees of the state have been registered in the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme by 1 May 2010 and a total of 37,708 people have been paying their contribution.

Over 2500 private employers have also registered in the pension scheme as the deadline in the Act, 1 May 2011, for those employed privately to pay pension draws near.

In his 92nd radio address, President Nasheed also highlighted the World Health Day observed worldwide on Thursday, 7 April.

Underlining the theme of this year’s World Health Day, “Combat drug resistance”, the President said the theme aims to raise global awareness on the severity of antimicrobial resistance.

Explaining the adverse effects of drug resistance, he warned that drug resistance leads to prolonged and expensive treatment and greater risk of death.

Therefore, he advised the people to follow the guidelines of doctors and medical practitioners in taking antibiotics and other medication to combat drug resistance.