Retirees panting for breath

Pensioners who mostly depend on their pensions have been the worst hit by the skyrocketing price hikes of daily essentials.

They are struggling to buy commodities as the price hikes of essentials have made a big dent in their savings. Not only that, it has also put quite a strain on their relationship with their near and dear ones as visiting places too involves money.

Talking to The Business Post, retirees pointed out high treatment cost, problem in upholding social status, relationship with neighbors and lack of quality food as the consequences of commodity price hike and devaluation of local currency.

Maintain social status is a far cry now. Living the life has become harder, Ziaul Kabir, a retired headmaster of a government primary school from Gopalganj told The Business Post.

“I receive Tk12, 800 per month as pension allowance. I have mother, wife and three sons and no one earns right now. Can you imagine how such a large family can run with this scanty amount of money that comes as pension?”

“To maintain social status I have to put on smart dresses and when I am at a tea stall for chat sipping teas I have to pay the bill as people know I am a headmaster,” he said. His elder son used to do a small business. But due to Covid-19 his business was closed. Another son completed Master’s Degree in Social Science but he is still unemployed. Out of the three, the other son will attend the HSC exam. He retired in 2019.

“How can I manage my family with the little money I draw while the price of everything has gone up?” Ziaul questioned with a blank expression.

The government also gives Eid and Bangla New Year bonuses but they are not enough for lower grade government employees.

People need to buy some extra food except for rice and pulse and they have to offer their neighbors something on different occasions.

“I cannot tell my miserable situation to others as I belong to the middle class in the society,” said Ismat Ara Parvin who retired in 2014 as Ucchoman Sahokari (Upper Division Clerk ) at a government office.

She receives a total of Tk9, 277 as allowance for two Eids and Tk1200 as Bangla New Year bonus.

“I receive Tk2, 500 a month as medical allowance. But all kinds of medicine prices have gone up. I need medicine worth Tk3, 500 per month.”

“I have withdrawn my pension money and invested in government savings scheme. I get Tk14, 000 as benefit per month. I bought a home in my village with my savings. Now I am struggling with my daily life and paying house rent in Dhaka,” Parvin said.

She and her son live in Dhaka as her son does an entry-level job for a private company with low salary.

More or less all the people solely depending on pension are struggling both for livelihood and social status.

Rina Nasrin, a retired deputy general manager of Bangladesh Bank, said she draws Tk 31,395 as monthly pension and another Tk1500 in medical allowance. She said either the government should increase the pension amount, or lowers prices of essentials so that retirees donot face malnutrition and social discrimination for their financial hardships.

Describing that she is not fully dependent on pension amount as her husband is doing a good job at a private firm, Nasrin said retirees deserve at least a yearly pay hike equivalent to official inflation rate.

“Price pressure is still a huge burden. I donot find the accuracy of official inflation figure when I go shopping and purchase groceries,” Rina Nasrin told The Business Post.

“Retirees should not be treated as half citizens in a democratic country.”

However in the budget for the fiscal year 2021-22, Tk28, 373 crore was allocated to pay pension money which was 4.7 per cent of the total budget.

According to the BBS, Bangladesh witnessed 6.3 per cent food inflation in March and 6.2 per cent in April which was 5.6 in January this year.

However other non-government research organizations claimed that the food inflation is double the figure said by the BBS.

According to the SANEM research, food inflation was more than 11 per cent in January and people spent more than 60 per cent of earnings for food items.

Now the prices of commodities have spiraled out of control. Soybean oil price has crossed Tk200 mark. Prices of staple foods - rice and atta – have also increased. Per kilogram of beef is now being sold at Tk700 while mutton price is Tk950.