# Pension savings can now back loans to build or renovate a home

> The Sixth Amendment to the Maldives Pension Act, in force since 21 May 2026, lets members pledge their pension savings for loans to build a house or renovate one, not only to buy. It also opens the scheme wider to the self-employed and tightens Basic Pension. What changed, what it means for buyers, and what is still waiting on regulations.

Source: Maldives Real Estate News, published by Binga Properties. URL: https://news.binga.mv/pension-act-sixth-amendment-build-renovate-home
Published: 2026-10-18T14:00:00.000Z · Updated: 2026-10-18T16:13:52.994Z · Event date: 2026-05-21

The **Sixth Amendment to the Maldives Pension Act** (Act No. 8/2009) was ratified on **21 May 2026** and took effect the same day, on publication in the Government Gazette. The Maldives Pension Administration Office (MPAO) announced it on **10 June 2026**.

For anyone planning a home, the headline is a wider housing benefit. Until now, members of the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme (MRPS) could pledge their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) only as security for a loan **to buy** a home. The amendment adds two more uses.

## 1. Pension savings for building and renovating

The Pension Office says members **"may now also use their RSA balance as collateral for loans obtained to"**:
- **construct a house**; or
- **renovate an existing house.**

It says this *"expands housing financing opportunities for members throughout the Maldives."*

**What it means:**
- **Families who own land** can now put their pension behind a construction loan. On many islands, building on the family plot is how homes are made.
- **Owners of an existing home** can use it to renovate.
- **Buyers of new flats** are unaffected: the **purchase** route works as before. That means the age table (100% of the balance up to 35, 80% from 36 to 49, 50% from 50 to 60), Maldivian citizens under 60, and repayment before 65.

## 2. More self-employed people in the scheme

The amendment *"broadens access for self-employed individuals"* to join the MRPS. The more self-employed people save into an RSA, the more of them will have a balance to pledge when they buy or build.

## 3. Basic Pension targeted more narrowly

The **Basic Pension**, the state's old-age payment, is separate from your RSA. From now on:
- people in **elected or appointed public office**, or **employed by the government or a state-owned enterprise**, will not receive it while they hold those posts; and
- people whose **direct income exceeds the eligibility threshold** will not receive it.

This does not touch your RSA savings or the housing benefit.

## 4. Early access for terminal illness

Members diagnosed with a **terminal illness** may draw on their savings before retirement age, under conditions set by law.

## 5. Hajj

Members may use their pension savings **to reserve a place for Hajj**.

## 6. Governance and investment

The law strengthens the Pension Fund's **investment and asset management** provisions. It adds **legal requirements for appointing board members and the chief executive**, and tightens governance and accountability at the Pension Office. In August 2026 the Pension Office announced Yazmeed Mohamed as its new chief executive.

## What is not yet known

The Pension Office's notice does not say:
- **how much** of your balance you can pledge for building or renovating (the purchase table may or may not apply);
- **which lenders** will offer it;
- **which homes or projects** qualify; or
- whether a construction pledge needs the same **age limits**.

All of that will come in the regulations.

**Where it stands on 18 October 2026.** The law has been in force since **21 May 2026**. In June the Pension Office said it was writing the regulations and procedures, *"expected to be completed within three months"*. As of 18 October, its news page has announced no regulations for the housing changes. Its housing page still describes **purchase loans only**, and its five approved lenders have published no pension-backed construction or renovation product. Until they do, ask the Pension Office (1441) and your lender before you plan on it.

*From the Pension Office's announcement of 10 June 2026 and its website, read on 18 October 2026. Details will be set by regulations not yet published. General information, not financial advice.*

## Sources
- pension.gov.mv/en/media/news/6th%20amendment%20to%20Pension%20Act (Pension Office, "6th Amendment to the Maldives Pension Act", 10 June 2026) (https://pension.gov.mv/en/media/news/6th%20amendment%20to%20Pension%20Act (Pension Office, "6th Amendment to the Maldives Pension Act", 10 June 2026))
- gazette.gov.mv/gazette/7506 (Government Gazette, Sixth Amendment to the Maldives Pension Act, Act No. 8/2009) (https://gazette.gov.mv/gazette/7506 (Government Gazette, Sixth Amendment to the Maldives Pension Act, Act No. 8/2009))
- pension.gov.mv/en/housing (Pension Office, MRPS Housing Benefit, read 18 October 2026) (https://pension.gov.mv/en/housing (Pension Office, MRPS Housing Benefit, read 18 October 2026))
- pension.gov.mv/en/media/news (Pension Office news, read 18 October 2026) (https://pension.gov.mv/en/media/news (Pension Office news, read 18 October 2026))

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