Gratuity where officer dies in the service or after retirement

(1) Where an officer holding a pensionable office who is not on probation or agreement, or an officer holding a non- pensionable office to which he has been transferred from a pensionable office in which he has been confirmed, dies while in public service under the Government of Belize the may grant to his legal personal representative a gratuity of an amount not exceeding his annual pensionable emoluments or his commuted pension gratuity, if any, whichever is the greater, Provided that for the purposes of this section an officer who has not been confirmed in his office and who dies in the circumstances mentioned in section 18 (1) of this Act, shall be deemed to have been confirmed in his office. (2) Where an officer dies after retirement from public service under the Government of Belize having been granted or having become eligible for a pension under this Act and the sums paid or payable to him at the date of his death on account of such pension including any sum awarded by way of gratuity under regulation 25 of the Pensions Regulations and any pension or gratuity paid or payable in respect of his service under any Scheduled Administration (as defined in regulation 8 of the Pensions Regulations) but excluding any additional pensions awarded in accordance with the provisions of regulation 24 (3) (b) of the Pensions Regulations, are less in total than the amount of his annual pensionable emoluments the Governor-General may grant a gratuity equal to the deficiency to his legal personal representative. (3) This section shall not apply in the case of the death of any officer where benefits corresponding to the benefits which may be granted under this section are payable under the 20 Overseas Superannuation Scheme in respect of such death or in the case of the death of an officer to whom section 17 of this Act, applies. (4) In this section, (a) “annual pensionable emoluments” means the emoluments taken for the purpose of computing any pension or gratuity granted to the officer under this Act or, in the case of such officer as is described in subsection (1) of this section, the emoluments which would have been taken in accordance with regulation 18 of the Pensions Regulations, for the purpose of computing the pension or gratuity that would have been granted to the officer if, on the day following the date of his death, he had retired from the public service in circumstances which enabled such a grant to be made; (b) “commuted pension gratuity” means the gratuity, if any, which might have been granted to the officer under regulation 26 of the Pensions Regulations, if the pensionable service which would be taken for the purpose of computing any pension or gratuity granted to him under this Act had been wholly under the Government of Belize and if, in the case of such officer as is described in subsection (1) of this section, on the date of his death he had retired from the public service in circumstances which enabled the grant of a pension to be made and had elected to receive a gratuity and reduced pension, Provided that in determining the amount of the gratuity which might have been granted to the officer under regulation 21 26 of the Pensions Regulations, no regard shall be had to regulation 4 (2) of such Regulations. Gratuity to a non-