Pension Office amends governance code, increases board members to 9

The Maldives Pension Administration Office (MPAO) made several amendments to its governance code on Monday, including increasing the number of board members to nine.

The MPAO’s governance code previously stated that it would have eight board members, and that the office’s work would be managed with the executive board in compliance with the Pension Act.

But the amended code, published on the Government Gazette on Monday, states that the MPAO’s board must be composed of nine members; the chairperson of the board, five representatives of the private sector, a senior civil servant from the ministry in charge of labor, a senior civil servant from the ministry in charge of public finance, and a senior civil servant from the ministry in charge of social security.

The amended code puts the office’s CEO in charge of managing day-to-day operations, and those policies and decisions will be executed by the management under the watch of the CEO.

The changes to the MPAO’s governance code follow a shakeup within the board following a decision in late 2025 to approve a proposal from the Finance Ministry to sell in the secondary market MVR 2.4 billion in treasury bonds invested in by the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme and then invest in an MVR 2.4 billion treasury bond with dual currency – MVR and USD – returns.

The proposal prompted economic experts to warn it would have the same implications on the Maldivian economy as money printing.

It also led to a string of resignations from the MPAO’s board, including that of board member Saruvash Adam, CFO Hawwa Fajwa, chairperson Dr. Ahmed Inaz, and CEO Sujatha Haleem.

But despite the warnings, the MPAO’s board approved the proposal in February.