Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2021)

17.   Pensions to dependants when an officer dies as a result of injuries received or disease contracted in the discharge of his or her duties

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   (1)   Where an officer while in public service under the Government of Saint Lucia—

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      (a)     is injured in the actual discharge of his or her duty by some injury specifically attributed to the nature of his or her duty which is not wholly or mainly due to, or seriously aggravated by, his or her own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct; or

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      (b)     contracts a disease to which he or she is exposed by nature of his or her duty, not being a disease wholly or mainly due to, or seriously aggravated by, his or her own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct,

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   and dies as a direct result thereof, and such death occurs within 7 years of the date when he or she was injured or contracted the disease, the Governor General may grant, in addition to the grant, if any made to his or her legal personal representatives under section 15 of this Act—

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      (i)     if the deceased officer leaves a widow, a pension to her at a rate not exceeding ten-sixtieths of his or her annual pensionable emoluments at the date of the injury or $72 a year, whichever is the greater,

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      (ii)     if the deceased officer leaves a widow to whom a pension is granted under the preceding paragraph and a child or children, a pension in respect of each child, until such child attains the age of 18 years, of an amount not exceeding ¹/₈ of the pension prescribed under the preceding paragraph,

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      (iii)     if the deceased officer leaves a child or children, but does not leave a widow, or no pension is granted to the widow, a pension in respect of each child, until such child attains the age of 18 years, of double the amount prescribed by the preceding paragraph,

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      (iv)     if the deceased officer leaves a child or children and a widow to whom a pension is granted under subparagraph (i), and the widow subsequently dies, a pension in respect of each child as from the date of the death of the widow until such child attains the age of 18 years, of double the amount prescribed in subparagraph (ii),

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      (v)     if the deceased officer does not leave a widow, or if no pension is granted to his or her widow and if his or her mother was wholly or mainly dependent on him or her for her support, a pension to the mother of an amount not exceeding the pension which might have been granted to his or her widow,

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      (vi)     if the deceased officer does not leave a widow or mother, or if no pension is granted to his or her widow or mother, and if his or her father was wholly or mainly dependent on him or her for support, a pension to the father of an amount not exceeding the pension which might have been granted to his or her widow,

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      (vii)     if the deceased officer does not leave a child or children who is or are eligible for a pension under the provisions of this section, and if any brother or sister was wholly or mainly dependent on him or her for support, a pension to any brother or sister until he or she attains the age of 18 years, of the same amount and subject to the same conditions as the pension which might have been granted under subparagraphs (ii), (iii) or (iv), as the case may be.

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   Provided that—

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      (a)     if in the opinion of the Governor General there are compassionate grounds for so doing, he or she may grant to any child of a deceased officer being a child who at the date of the death of the officer was wholly or mainly dependent on him or her for support and who has attained the age of 18 years a pension for such period as the Governor General may determine, of an amount not exceeding the pension which may be granted under subparagraphs (ii), (iii) or (iv), as the case may be;

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      (b)     where a deceased officer leaves a child who was incapacitated at the time of the officer's death (hereinafter in this section referred to as an “incapacitated child”) the Governor General may, despite any pension which may have been granted under subparagraphs (ii), (iii) or (iv) grant an additional pension in respect of such incapacitated child after he or she has attained the age of 18 years and so long as his or her incapacity shall continue, of an amount not exceeding ¹/₂ the pension which might have been granted under subparagraphs (ii), (iii) or (iv) aforesaid, as the case may be;

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      (c)     where compensation in respect of the death is payable under any law in force in Saint Lucia which provides for the payment of workmen's compensation, or where benefits corresponding to benefits granted under this section are payable under the Overseas Superannuation Scheme or under the law in force in respect of any other public service, in respect of death, the Governor General, with the concurrence of the appropriate service commission may reduce or withhold any pension which may be payable under this section in such manner as he or she may consider reasonable;

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      (d)     a pension is not payable under this subsection at any time in respect of more than 6 children exclusive of incapacitated children, and where there are more than 6 such children, in respect of whom, but for this proviso, a pension would be payable, then the amount payable in respect of 6 children shall be divided equally among all such children during the period in which there are more than 6 children of pensionable age;

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      (e)     in the case of a pension granted under subparagraphs(v), (vi) or (vii), if it appears to the Governor General at any time that the mother or father, or any brother or sister, is adequately provided with other means of support, such pension shall cease as from such date as the Governor General may determine.

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   (2)   A pension shall not be granted to the widow of the deceased officer if she was not married to him at the date of injury.

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   (3)   A pension shall not be payable to the widow of the deceased officer or to any other female if—

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      (a)     in the case of the widow, she was at the time of the death cohabiting with a person other than the deceased officer or after the death she marries or cohabits with any person;

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      (b)     in the case of a female who is not the widow of the deceased officer, she was at the time of the death married to or cohabiting with any person or after the death she marries or cohabits with any person,

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   and if, after the grant of pension to the widow or other female, she marries or cohabits with any person, the pension shall cease from the date of the marriage or the commencement of the cohabitation.

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   If—

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      (i)     a pension is withheld or ceases under this subsection, and

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      (ii)     the Governor General is satisfied at a subsequent date that the marriage or cohabitation has come to an end or that there are compassionate grounds for the payment of the pension despite marriage,

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   the Governor General may, if he or she thinks fit, grant or regrant the pension as from that date.

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   (4)   In the case of an officer not holding a pensionable office the expression “pensionable emoluments” in the preceding subsection shall mean the emoluments enjoyed by him or her which would have been pensionable emoluments if the office held by him or her had been a pensionable office.

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   (5)   If an officer proceeding by a route approved by the Governor General to or from Saint Lucia at the commencement or termination of his or her service in the public service of the Government of Saint Lucia or for a period of secondment, duty leave or leave therefrom dies as a result of damage to the vessel, aircraft or vehicle in which he or she is travelling, or of any act of violence directed against such vessel, aircraft or vehicle and the Governor General is satisfied that such damage or act is attributable to circumstances arising out of war in which Her Majesty may be engaged, such officer is considered, for the purposes of this section, to have died as a result of the circumstances described in subsection (1)(a).

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   (6)   An officer who dies as a result of an injury received while travelling by air under official instructions, which injury is not wholly or mainly due to, or seriously aggravated by, his or her own serious and culpable negligence or misconduct, shall be deemed for the purpose of this section to have died in the circumstances described in subsection (1)(a).

However, in such case the rates of pension prescribed in subsection (1)(i) and (1)(ii) shall be fifteen-sixtieths and one-sixth respectively.

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   (7)   Where the Governor General is satisfied that damages have been or will be recovered in respect of the death for which a pension may be granted under subsection (1) of this section, the Governor General with the concurrence of the appropriate service commission may take those damages into account against such pension in such manner and to such extent that he or she may think fit and may withhold or reduce the pension accordingly.

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   (8)   For the purposes of subsection (7) an officer is considered to recover damages whether they are paid under a judgment or order of a court or by way of settlement or compromise of his or her claim and whether or not proceedings are instituted to enforce that claim.

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   (9)   For the purposes of this section the following words have, in relation to an officer, the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them—

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      (a)     “brother” includes, in relation to a person every male child of his or her father or mother;

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      (b)     “child” includes—

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         (i)     a posthumous child,

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         (ii)     a step-child or illegitimate child born before the date of the injury or contracting the disease, as the case may be, and wholly on mainly dependent upon the deceased officer for support, and

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         (iii)     and adopted child, adopted in a manner recognised by law, before the date of the injury or contracting the disease, as the case may be, and dependent as aforesaid.

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      However, in the case of an illegitimate child the pension that may be granted to such illegitimate child shall not exceed the maximum allowance that a magistrate may order a putative father to make for the maintenance and support of an illegitimate child under the laws in force in Saint Lucia;

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      (c)     “incapacitated” means in relation to a child incapable by reason of some specific bodily or mental disability of earning his or her own living and a child, who is in any event too young to earn his or her own living, shall be treated as incapacitated for the purposes of this section if it appears that, by reason of any specific bodily or mental disability, he or she will be incapable of earning his or her own living when he or she attains the age at which he or she would otherwise be capable of doing so;

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      (d)     “father” includes his or her step-father and a male person by whom he or she has been adopted;

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      (e)     “mother” includes, in relation to a person, a stepmother and a female person by whom he or she has been adopted;

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      (f)     “sister” includes every female child of his or her father or mother.