Citizens aged between 18 and 50 will be able to enrol in ‘Universal Pension Scheme’ and pay a fixed monthly fee to the pension fund, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said, adding that the government will contribute the same amount of fee to the fund.
A separate authority will be formed for managing the fund, who will also invest the fund for investments. The profit from the investments will also be distributed among the pensioners, the minister said while talking to reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Public Procurement in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Universal pension is a stream of payments from the state to an individual that starts when someone retires at age 60 and continues in payment until he or she dies.
The scheme will be introduced for all Bangladeshi citizens including expatriates living outside the country. It will be kept optional at the beginning, but will later be made compulsory, said the minister
“It is possible to launch this pension scheme within the next six months to a year. Before launching, legislation will need to be formulated and a separate authority will also be formed,” he added.
Those who will register for the scheme must pay fee to the pension fund for at least 10 years to get the benefit after turning 60. However, if someone dies before the age of 75, their nominee will get the benefit, the minister mentioned.
On February 17, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the finance ministry to take an initiative for framing a new law on an urgent basis to introduce the Universal Pension Scheme for all citizens over 60 years.
She gave the direction after Finance Division Senior Secretary Abdur Rouf Talukder presented the strategic paper of the Universal Pension Scheme at her official residence Ganabhaban.
The premier also gave some directives on the paper based on international experience, the context of Bangladesh and the country’s economic capacity.
A senior official at the finance division said they had been exercising for years to launch the pension scheme. Several acts have to be enacted to this effect, and two authorities will be established after the enactments and before the launching of the universal pension scheme in the country, he added.
“We are working on it. Hopefully, by the current fiscal year everything will be completed with regards to launching the pension scheme,” an additional secretary of the finance division told The Business Post.
