Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to inform the House that the National Pensions Fund was established under Section 37 of the National Pension Act 1976 which shall be administered by the Minister of Social Security in accordance with Finance and Audit Act. Contributions into the fund were being made by both employers and employees of the private sector at the rate of 6% and 3%, respectively, under the National Pensions Scheme. However, the previous government stopped the contribution scheme in August 2020 and introduced the Contribution Sociale Généralisée (CSG) as from 01 September 2020. I am assuming that the hon. Member is referring to the National Savings Fund instead of the National Solidarity Fund. The National Savings Fund (NSF) was established under Section 3 of the National Savings Fund Act 1995 with the objectives – • to provide for the payment of a lumpsum to every employee on his retirement and in respect of every employee at the time of his death, and • to set up and operate for the benefits of employees such schemes, including loan schemes, as may be prescribed. Employers contribute 2.5% in respect of each employee. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, Section 38 of the National Pensions Act provides for the setting up of an NPF/NSF Investment Committee under the chair of the Financial Secretary. Any surplus remaining in the National Pensions Fund and the National Savings Fund may, at any time, be held on deposit with the government or invested in such manner as the NPF and NSF Investment Committee may determine. With regard to part (a) of the question, I am informed that the fund value, that is, the balance standing to the credit of the National Pensions Fund stood at around Rs165.1 billion. The fund value of the National Savings Fund stood at around Rs50.26 billion as at December 2025. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, may I add, for the attention of the House, that the regeneration of the National Pensions Fund to replace the Contribution Sociale Généralisée is presently one of the attributions of the Commission of Expert on Pension Reforms, set up by the Cabinet in September 2025, with a view to overhaul the national pensions system. A ministerial committee on pension reforms has also been set up by the Cabinet to provide guidance to the commission on strategic direction and policy priorities for the reform of the pension system. To access and act on the recommendations of the commission under the chair of the hon. Prime Minister, the following hon. Ministers form part of the Steering Committee: the hon. Deputy Prime Minister; the hon. Minster of Agro-Industry, Food Security, Blue Economy and Fisheries; the hon. Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity; the hon. Minister of Financial Services and Economic Planning; the hon. Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations; the hon. Minister of Industry, SME and Cooperatives; the hon. Junior Minister of Finance, and the Junior Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity. As at date, no meeting of the Steering Committee on Pensions Reform has been held. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to part (b) of the question, I wish to inform the House that the fact that these two funds are investment funds and they constantly buy and sell on a day-to-day basis. As a matter of example, NPF has purchased some Rs222 billion of government instruments over the past 10 years. These investments have matured and have been reinvested. As at 31 December 2025, the NPF’s return on investment was 7.25 and the NSF’s return on investment was 7.21%. As at 31 December, the annual returns of both the NPF and the NSF since 2015 are being tabled. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir.

The hon. Second Member for Rodrigues! FISHERMAN REGISTRATION CARD – PLASTIC/E-IDENTITY CARD