The government is set to launch the Universal Pension Scheme this month.
The National Pension Authority (NPA) signed an agreement with four entities on Wednesday in this regard, at a meeting chaired by NPA Executive Chairman and Finance Division Additional Secretary Kabirul Ezdani Khan, and held at the Finance Ministry on Wednesday.
On condition of anonymity, a senior finance ministry official said, “The NPA has signed a MoU with Sonali Bank for financial management, Department of Immigration and Passports for expatriates, Election Commission for NIDs, and the Local Government Division for birth registration data.
“Another agreement will be signed with Bangladesh Data Center Company Ltd (BDCCL) and iBAS++ to provide pension services through digital means.”
All adult citizens of the country will be brought under the pension scheme gradually. The Finance Division has requested Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her schedule after August 20 to inaugurate the scheme.
A ministry official said the prime minister will announce the inauguration by adding two or three poor people and some other beneficiaries from other categories in the public pension system.
The Finance Division is speeding up the preparation for the implementation of the pension scheme, insiders say.
Although this programme is supposed to be implemented through the NPA, so far the authority has no office and appointed no manpower. Finance Division Kabirul Additional Secretary Ezdani Khan has been made executive chairman of the authority in addition to his regular duties.
According to sources, Finance Secretary Fatima Yasmin will finish her tenure on 28th of this month and join the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as Vice President. The Finance Division is trying to inaugurate this program while Fatima Yasmin is the Finance Secretary.
The pension programme will be launched initially for four categories of people – “Probashi” for expatriate Bangladeshis, “Progoti” for private sector workers, “Surokkha” for non-institutional sector workers and “Somota” for the underprivileged.
The government will provide 50 per cent of funds only for the beneficiaries of Somota scheme.
Normally, before taking such a large initiative, the government usually takes pilot projects in different districts, but since this scheme is completely online, from the day of inauguration, anyone from any part of the country and even from abroad can participate.
While initially announcing the scheme people from 18 to 50 year olds were made eligible but later relaxed the age limit to include people over 50. However, to get a lifetime pension benefit, a minimum 10 years’ contribution has to be paid.
Monthly subscription is minimum Tk 500 and maximum Tk 10,000.
Half of the monthly contribution may be given from the pension fund in case of citizens below lower wage limit or indigent contributors.
According to sources from the Ministry of Finance, those living below the poverty line will belong to the underprivileged category. Their monthly subscription rate will be Tk 500.
The informal sector will include people of various occupations including rickshaw pullers, hawkers, domestic workers, street vendors. Among the four classes, only the poor will be partially supported by the government.
The notification of three rules – namely the National Pension Authority Staff Recruitment Rules, Eligibility to Join Pension Scheme and Completion of Registration Procedure rule, and National Pension Scheme Rules – has also been drafted, sources say.
These notifications will be issued before the pension scheme is launched.
