PVATM Hopes Budget 2026 Narrow Pension Gap Of Military Retirees

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22  (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Armed Forces Veterans Association (PVATM) hopes Budget 2026 will help narrow the pension gap between military retirees who retired before and after Jan 1, 2013.

Its president,  Capt (Rtd) Sharuddin Omar, said the current disparity in pension rates is too wide, ranging from 14 to 71.9 per cent depending on rank, between those who retired before and after the implementation date, depending on the category of their ranks.

"This gap arose when the government introduced the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) salary increase under the Minimum-Maximum Salary Schedule (JGMM) on Jan 1, 2013, which did not include pension adjustments for those who retired earlier," he told Bernama here today.

On June 4 this year, he said, the Court of Appeal on June 4 ruled that military retirees who left service before Jan 1, 2013,  were not entitled to the JGMM pension adjustment as it involved salary improvements and changes in service conditions, not a salary increase.

“Nevertheless, PVATM continues to appeal to the government to address this disparity and ease the rising cost of living faced by retirees, based on humanitarian, welfare and service-sacrifice considerations,” he added.

He said PVATM will continue to negotiate prudently with the government, offering several alternative solutions that are fair to both parties.

Sharuddin pointed out that the majority of military retirees receive relatively lower pensions compared to civil servants of equivalent grades, as 92 per cent of them were from other ranks who had served for 21 years.

Based on PVATM records, of the 148,884 retirees drawing pensions, 40.7 per cent receive less than RM1,500 per month, while only 11 per cent receive more than RM2,500.

Meanwhile, Sharuddin said PVATM is also proposing an improvement in eligibility for the Living Aid (BSH) scheme for both pensioned and non-pensioned veterans.

“We recommend that the Poverty Line Income (PGK), which has remained at RM1,198 per month since 2005, be revised to RM2,028 per month. This adjustment will allow more veterans with incomes below the new PGK to benefit from BSH assistance,” he said.

PVATM has also proposed an increase in the Commemorative Allowance for 58 recipients of the Darjah Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP), Bintang Panglima Gagah Berani (PGB), Pingat Jasa Perkasa Persekutuan (JPP), and Pingat Panglima Tentera Udara (PTU).

The current allowance, ranging from RM1,000 to RM2,000, has remained unchanged for the past 16 years, he said.

-- BERNAMA