New Hajj Rule Allows Pension Fund Use for Queue After Age 65

The Maldives Pension Office has begun implementing rules that allow individuals over the age of 65 to use funds from their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) to secure a spot in the Hajj queue. Previously, this was not permitted. The change follows an amendment to the Maldives Pension Act. To be eligible, a member must not have previously performed obligatory Hajj and must have at least 336,000 rufiyaa in their Retirement Savings Account. If a member has mortgaged pension funds for housing, the account must still hold 336,000 rufiyaa after that reduction. Under the new procedure, members wishing to go on Hajj can submit a request to the Pension Office to settle the remaining balance after paying 20 percent of the Hajj travel cost to the Maldives Hajj Corporation. The money will not be immediately withdrawn and continues to be invested until it is handed over. The Pension Office also stated that the amount reserved for Hajj will not be included when calculating pension funds for members receiving pensions from the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme (MRPS) or for those who recently retired, meaning the monthly pension amount may change. If the Hajj reservation is cancelled, the pension funds will be recalculated accordingly. According to statistics from the Pension Office from July of this year, more than 23,000 individuals meet the conditions for performing Hajj through the pension fund, including 1,634 women and 3,846 men over the age of 65.