Pensioners below 69 can apply for an advance of up to 75 percent on their previous month’s pension, on a new pension advance facility introduced by Commercial Bank.
Pensioners who receive their pension through the Pensions Department, pensioners of the Central Bank and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) who have at least one of their pensions of Rs. 10,000 or more credited to a Commercial Bank account will be eligible for the facility, a Bank official said.
People can enjoy up to Rs. 50,000 as an advance on their pensions after applying for the facility once.
Those who credit their pensions to accounts at Commercial Bank can also apply for personal loans up to Rs. 2.5 million with a repayment period up to 10 years, a Bank official said. Commercial Bank’s Chief Operating Officer Sanath Manatunge said, “There are over 600,000 government pensioners in the country. The scheme is a means of empowering them by offering access to an income that can meet their cash requirements without waiting for the pension remittance date.”