Sri Lankan President orders immediate Rs. 3000 monthly allowance for pensioners

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in a discussion

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials from the Ministry of Finance to take the necessary action to provide a monthly interim allowance of Rs. 3000 to all pensioners, starting next week.

After reviewing the delay in adding the Rs. 3000 allowance to the October pension, the President directed that this amount be credited to pensioners’ accounts within the next week.

These instructions were given during a meeting held yesterday afternoon (October 10) at the Presidential Secretariat with senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Despite Circular No. 02/2024, dated 2024/08/24, issued by the Public Administration Department to grant a monthly interim allowance of Rs. 3000 to all pensioners, funds had not been allocated for this purpose.

Upon reviewing the matter, President Dissanayake instructed the Ministry of Finance officials to ensure that the required funds are made available.

Considering the hardships faced by pensioners due to the non-payment of the Rs. 3000 allowance with the October pension and their subsequent requests, the President decided to proceed with the payment from this month, despite the government’s ongoing financial challenges.

Since the October pension has already been credited to pensioners’ accounts, the President instructed officials to ensure that the Rs. 3000 allowance is credited within the next week. Starting next month, this allowance will be added to the monthly pension.

Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardena, and several senior officials from the Ministry of Finance were present at the meeting.