§ 16. Colonel YATEasked the Secretary of State for War whether, considering the fact that the Government of India have decided that the proportion up to which pensions may be commuted should not be allowed to exceed a quarter of the pension, he will state the proportion up to which officers of the British Service are permitted to commute their pensions; if exceeding more than one-quarter of the pension, whether similar conditions to those applied in India might be advantageously applied in England; whether, 195 while the Government of India permit their pensioners to commute on a 31 per cent, basis, officers of the British Army are only permitted to commute on a 5 per cent, basis; and what difference this makes to the British Service officer?
Mr. BAKEROfficers of the British Service are allowed to commute one-half of their pension, but not less than £80 must be left uncommitted. It appears that the Indian conditions mentioned in the question refer to Indian natives, and that, as far as British officers are concerned, the Indian conditions are the same as those of the British Service, except that the limit for commutation is one-third. It is a matter of opinion how, far it is to an officer's advantage to commute his pension, but experience has shown that the limit of one-half has prevented cases of destitution from arising without unduly interfering with the officer's discretion as to his financial arrangements. The rate of interest chargeable is fixed by the Pensions Commutation Act.