Military Pensions Act, 1976 (Act No. 84 of 1976)1. Definitions |
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates—
means the military pensions appeal tribunal mentioned in section 16(1);
in relation to any member, means an unmarried child under the age of eighteen years—
| (a) | who is a child for whose maintenance such member is legally responsible; |
| (b) | who is a stepchild of such member; |
| (c) | who has been legally adopted by such member; |
| (d) | any such unmarried child over the age of eighteen years who is a full-time student at any university or other educational institution or who, on account of any physical or mental disability, is not able to provide for his own maintenance and is regularly maintained by such member; |
"consolidated pension"
[Definition deleted by section 4(a) of Act No. 97 of 1980 (Notice No. 1525, GG 7150, dated 1 August 1980)]
"deceased member"
means any member who is killed during the performance of military service or who dies as a result of the performance of military service or who, during or after the performance of military service dies and suffered from a pensionable disability immediately prior to his death;
"Defence Act"
means the Defence Act, 1957 (Act No. 44 of 1957);
"dependant"
in relation to any member, means his or her spouse or child;
[Definition substituted by section 2(a) of Act No. 18 of 2019 (Notice No. 799, GG 42482, dated 23 May 2019)]
"Director-General"
means the Director-General: National Treasury;
[Definition substituted by section 2(b) of Act No. 18 of 2019 (Notice No. 799, GG 42482, dated 23 May 2019)]
"fixed date"
means, subject to the provisions of section 26(1), the date on which this Act comes into operation;
"formula I"
in relation to a specified member and any matter to be calculated in accordance with formula I, means—
A × B
in which formula—
| (a) | A represents the amount which the Minister, subject to the provisions of subsection (2), may with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance determine from time to time; and |
| (b) | B represents the percentage at which the pensionable disability of a member may have been determined; |
"formula II"
in relation to any matter to be calculated in accordance with formula II, means—
C × D × E
in which formula—
| (a) | C represents the amount which the Minister, subject to the provisions of subsection (2), may with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance determine from time to time; |
| (b) | D represents the percentage at which the pensionable disability of a specified member may have been determined; and |
| (c) | E represents the number of dependants of the member; |
"formula III"
[Definition deleted by section 4(a) of Act No. 97 of 1980 (Notice No. 1525, GG 7150, dated 1 August 1980)]
"formula IV"
[Definition deleted by section 4(a) of Act No. 97 of 1980 (Notice No. 1525, GG 7150, dated 1 August 1980)]
"gratuity"
means the gratuity mentioned in section 5;
"medical appeal board"
means a medical appeal board mentioned in section 15;
"medical pensions officer"
means any medical practitioner designated by the Director-General as a medical pensions officer;
[Definition substituted by section 18 of Act No. 96 of 1983 (Notice No. 1523, GG 8809, dated 13 July 1983)]
means a person registered as such in terms of the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974);
"medical treatment"
means medical, surgical or hospital treatment, skilled nursing services and the supply and repair of any artificial part of the body or any device necessitated by a pensionable disability or a previous pensionable disability;
"member"
means, subject to the provisions of section 21, any member of the Citizen Force or any Commando or the Reserve mentioned in section 5 or 6 of the Defence Act;
[Definition substituted by section 4(b) of Act No. 97 of 1980 (Notice No. 1525, GG 7150, dated 1 August 1980]
"military service"
includes—
| (a) | naval, air or military service or training being performed or undergone by a member in terms of the Defence Act; |
| (b) | military service or training performed or undergone by any person in a political organisation as defined in section 31 of the Special Pensions Act, 1996 (Act No. 69 of 1996). |
[Definition substituted by section 8 of Act No. 21 of 2003 (Notice No. 1404, GG 25542, dated 7 October 2003)]
"Minister"
means the Minister responsible for finance;
[Definition substituted by section 2(c) of Act No. 18 of 2019 (Notice No. 799, GG 42482, dated 23 May 2019)]
"parent"
in relation to a member, means his lawful parent or step-parent who, in the opinion of the Director-General was immediately prior to the member's death dependent mainly or partly on such member for his maintenance;
[Definition substituted by section 17(b) of Act No. 96 of 1983 (Notice No. 1523, GG 8809, dated 13 July 1983)]
"pension"
means a pension mentioned in section 4;
"pensionable disability"
in relation to a member, means a disability which was caused or aggravated by military service within the meaning of section 2, provided it was in the opinion of the Director-General not caused or aggravated by the member's own misconduct, and which has been determined or redetermined in terms of section 7;
[Definition substituted by section 18 of Act No. 96 of 1983 (Notice No. 1523, GG 8809, dated 13 July 1983)]
"period of service"
means any period of actual service or training with the Citizen Force, a Commando or the Reserve mentioned in section 5 of 6 of the Defence Act;
"prescribed"
means prescribed by regulation under section 23;
"previous pensionable disability"
means a pensionable disability determined in terms of any law which is repealed by this Act;
"Republic"
[Definition deleted by section 1 of Act No. 49 of 1996 (Notice No. 1601, GG 17477, dated 4 October 1996)];
[Definition deleted by section 17(c) of Act No. 96 of 1983 (Notice No. 1523, GG 8809, dated 13 July 1983)]
"spouse"
in relation to any member, means—
| (a) | a husband or wife in terms of the Marriage Act, 1961 (Act No. 25 of 1961), the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 (Act No. 120 of 1998), or the Civil Union Act, 2006 (Act No. 17 of 2006); |
| (b) | a life partner (including a same sex life partner); |
| (c) | a husband or wife according to the tenets of any religion of the member at the date of the member’s death; |
| (d) | a person who is the natural parent of a child under the age of 18 years who is regularly maintained by the member; or |
| (e) | a person with whom the member lived together as a husband, wife or life partner for a period of at least five years immediately before the commencement of the member’s military services within the meaning of section 2(3); |
[Definition inserted by section 2(d) of Act No. 18 of 2019 (Notice No. 799, GG 42482, dated 23 May 2019)]
"this Act"
includes the regulations made under section 23;
"widow"
[Definition deleted by section 2(e) of Act No. 18 of 2019 (Notice No. 799, GG 42482, dated 23 May 2019)]
"wife"
[Definition deleted by section 2(f) of Act No. 18 of 2019 (Notice No. 799, GG 42482, dated 23 May 2019)]
(2)
| (a) | Any amount or number which is permitted or required to be determined by the Minister in terms of the definition of formula I or formula II shall be determined by notice in the Gazette and different amounts or numbers may so be determined in respect of different population groups or categories of persons. |
[Section 1(2)(a) substituted by section 4(c) of Act No. 97 of 1980 (Notice No. 1525, GG 7150, dated 1 August 1980)]
| (b) | Any notice in terms of paragraph (a), other than a notice by virtue of which the amount of any pension is reduced, may be issued with retrospective effect. |
[Section 1(2)(b) substituted by section 4(d) of Act No. 97 of 1980 (Notice No. 1525, GG 7150, dated 1 August 1980)]