MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Johanne Hague, Ashwin Mudhoo, Medina Torabally and Yushrah Bayjou, CMS Prism in association with CMS
Application for Appointment of Guardians for Minors The application for guardianship of a minor is different from the guardianship of an adult. In the former case, guardianship and parental authority are closely linked but mutually exclusive. Article 373-1 and 373-3 of the Code provide that in the event of the demise of one parent, the other parent has the sole and exclusive exercise of parental authority, and that there is need for guardianship where both parents are no longer alive or where the exercise of parental authority of both parents has been removed by the court. Similarly, in the case of a natural child, article 374 of the Code provides that parental authority is exercised only by a parent who has acknowledged the child as theirs and by both parents if the child is acknowledged by both the mother and father. Therefore, guardianship in respect of a minor, whether legitimate or natural, is to be pronounced only where both parents are deceased or there is no parent who can exercise parental authority as per article 395 of the Code. Therefore, an application for guardianship in respect of a minor is seldom pronounced if the child has at least one parent who is alive and can exer - cise parental authority. It is only in some limited cases and in exceptional circumstances that such a drastic measure is taken. 8.3 Elder Law Significant changes have been introduced by the Finance Act 2025 regarding retirement planning. Increase in the Basic Retirement Pension The retirement age for the basic retirement pension is being progressively raised from 60 to 65 years as per the transition schedule below: • A person born between September 1965 – August 1966 – Eligible at 61 years of age (September 2026 – August 2027) • A person born between September 1966 – August 1967 – Eligible at 62 years of age (September 2028 – August 2029) • A person born between September 1967 – August 1968 – Eligible at 63 years of age (September 2030 – August 2031)
• A person born between September 1968 – August 1969 – Eligible at 64 years of age (September 2032 – August 2033) • A person born on/after September 1969 – Eligible at 65 years of age (September 2034 and after). There are transitional measures such as income sup - Prior to the Portable Retirement Gratuity Fund (PRGF), an employer was required to pay a lump sum gratuity upon the employee’s retirement or to their legal heirs upon the employee’s death. This lump sum gratuity was calculated based on the following formula: • 15 days’ final remuneration for every period of 12 months’ employment; and • a sum equal to one-twelfth of the sum payable for 12 months’ employment multiplied by the number of months during which the worker has remained in the employment of the employer, for every period of less than 12 months. port schemes for vulnerable groups. Portable Retirement Gratuity Fund Previously, only the last employer was required to pay this lump sum gratuity. This meant that employees were not able to receive a gratuity which reflected their entire length of service if they changed employers dur - ing their professional career. Further, employers were finding it burdensome to make a lump sum payment at the end of the employee’s career. In order to remedy these issues, the PRGF was estab - lished in 1 January 2020, with the introduction of the Workers’ Rights Act 2019. Under the PRGF, employ - ers are required to make a monthly contribution to the PRGF instead of paying the lump sum mentioned above as a gratuity upon retirement or death of an employee. The employer is required to make monthly contribu - tions in respect of their employees and file a PRGF return with the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA), which is the administrator of the PRGF. PRGF contri - butions are payable as from the month an employee is employed, whether on a full-time or part-time basis and whether on probation or not.
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