G.R. No. 43479 ; September 28, 1935
ADAM C. DERKUM, petitioner, vs. PENSION AND INVESTMENT BOARD, respondent.

FACTS

Petitioner Adam C. Derkum, a retired public school teacher, was granted an annuity of P2,000 per annum under Act No. 3050 (Teachers’ Pension Law) upon his retirement in 1927. In 1929, Act No. 3629 amended Act No. 3050 by increasing the maximum average compensation used for computing the annuity from P4,000 to P6,000 per annum. Derkum requested that his annuity be increased pursuant to the amendatory law, but the respondent Pension and Investment Board denied his request. Derkum then filed an original action for mandamus in the Supreme Court to compel the Board to grant the increase.

ISSUE

Whether Act No. 3629 , which increased the annuity benefits under the Teachers’ Pension Law, applies retroactively to a teacher who had already retired prior to its enactment.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court denied the petition for mandamus. The amendatory law does not apply retroactively to individuals already retired at the time of its passage. The rights of a retired employee are fixed and determined by the law in force at the date of retirement. The language of Act No. 3629 , particularly Section 1 which refers to persons “eligible for retirement,” is couched in the future tense and does not expressly include those already retired. Absent a clear legislative intent for retroactive application, and following the general rule that amendatory acts have no retroactive effect, the Court held that Derkum’s annuity must continue to be governed by the original statute. The inequality between pre- and post-amendment retirees is a matter for the Legislature, not the courts, to address.

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