Pension Office Allows Hajj Booking for MRPS Members Aged 65 and Above Using Retirement Funds

The Maldives Pension Office has announced that space for Hajj services can now be secured for members of the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme (MRPS) who are aged 65 and above, using funds from their Retirement Savings Account. This change follows the sixth amendment to the Pension Act of the Republic of Maldives, which has been gazetted and implemented. Previously, individuals who turned 65 could not use their retirement savings to reserve Hajj space. Under the new regulation, any member meeting the conditions can perform Hajj services using their account funds. The Pension Office stated that persons who previously could not reserve space due to turning 65, as well as those already above 65 when space was secured, are now eligible. To qualify, members must not have performed Hajj before and must have at least MVR 336,000 in their Retirement Savings Account. If a member has used pension funds for housing, they must still retain MVR 336,000 after subtracting that amount. Members will be allocated Hajj space in order upon paying 20 percent of the journey cost to the Maldives Hajj Corporation. The Pension Office also noted that the amount reserved for Hajj will not be included in the calculation of pension funds for members receiving pensions or newly retired members, potentially affecting monthly pension amounts. However, if the Hajj reservation is cancelled or funds are returned to the account, pensions will be recalculated including those funds.