Sri Lanka ends parliamentary pensions to prune perks for politicians

Sri Lanka’s parliament abolished pensions for all legislators and their widows on Tuesday, in line with a government pledge to prune the perks of politicians.“When people see the quality of debate and what members say in this House, they don’t think MPs deserve a pension,” Justice Minister Harsana Nanayakkara told parliament as it voted to stop pensions with immediate effect.The leftist government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake repealed the 49-year-old Parliamentary Pensions Act just months after withdrawing housing, vehicles and thousands of bodyguards from former presidents.The 225-member legislature, where the ruling party has a two-thirds majority, voted 154 in favour, with just two against, to repeal the pensions law.Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa objected, saying a pension was necessary to ensure legislators had social security after leaving office.Otherwise, he argued, they could be tempted to amass wealth through corruption to secure their well-being in retirement.Under the previous law, members of parliament were entitled to a pension after completing five years in office, while other state employees had to complete 10 years of service to qualify.