Rethinking Lifetime Pensions For Parliamentarians: A Socio-Legal And Humanitarian Critique
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28918/Abstract
This study examines the ethical, legal, and humanitarian implications of providing lifetime pensions to members of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Indonesia, utilising a socio-legal perspective. Under Law No. 12 of 1980, parliamentarians receive lifetime financial support after completing short terms of service, creating a stark contrast with the economic precarity of the general public. This study employs a normative-doctrinal legal method enriched by a sociological critique of public budgeting. Using John Rawls’s Theory of Distributive Justice and the Public Trust Doctrine as analytical frameworks, this research interrogates the conceptual validity of lifetime parliamentary pensions against the principles of sound state financial management. The findings reveal that the current pension scheme breeds constitutional and ethical regression by institutionalising structural inequality. This paper argues that lifetime pensions for short-term political office holders violate the state’s fiduciary duty and exploit public resources at the expense of marginalised communities’ socio-economic rights. Finally, this study proposes a policy transition from the current non-contributory lifetime pension to a contribution-based, limited-term severance model (Contribution-Based Severance Scheme), ensuring that public office is treated as a temporary civic duty rather than a lifetime economic privilege
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