The Universal Pension Scheme (UPS) achieved the milestone of 1 lakh registered beneficiaries on Monday.
Making the disclosure, a press release issued by the National Pension Authority, stated that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched the Universal Pension Scheme on August 17, 2023. The programme initially began with “Probash,” “Pragati,” “Surokkha,” and “Somota” schemes.
On July 1 this year, the “Prottoy” scheme will become mandatory for staff and employees of self-governing, autonomous and state-owned organisations.
The National Pension Authority chalks up the success of this initiative to extensive awareness and other programmes organised at the field level.
It should be noted that Tk 42 crore of the beneficiaries has already been invested in safe treasury bonds. The authority is optimistic that the trend of registration in the UPS will continue in the coming days.
The release said the field administration has been involved actively to reach the benefits of the universal pension scheme to the doorsteps of common people.
Formed by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), “Universal pension operations implementation and coordination committees” have been formed at national, divisional, district and upazila level while the field administration has been given specific directives.
Besides, the officials of the PMO have been given the task of division-wise monitoring of such operations for which divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, UNOs have been regularly monitoring the registration activities to the scheme at divisional, district and upazila level.
Steps have also been taken to involve people at large to the pension scheme through organising fairs and workshops at divisional level. Already such a pension fair and workshop was held on April 19 at Rajshahi while such a fair and workshop would be held in the rest of the seven divisions.
Sufficient number of fliers and booklets have been sent to the field administration for distributing those among the common people for creating awareness on pension schemes while such activities would continue.
Besides, initiatives have been taken to involve the entrepreneurs of the union digital centres and due to the cumulative results of such initiatives, the number of registration to the universal pension scheme reached a new milestone of one lakh.
The concept of the universal pension scheme has been popularising day by day in order to ensure financial security of the citizens of the developing countries, according to the release.
Considering such global context, the present Awami League government has rolled out the Universal Pension Scheme to provide financial security to the elderly people at their later stage of life.
Such kind of initiative by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has become an epoch-making welfare-oriented step in the history of Bangladesh which would be regarded as the “charter of financial emancipation” during the post-retirement life of all citizens.
In this continued process, Bangladesh would emerge as a more welfare-oriented state.
Mentionable, each and every operation of the universal pension scheme from registration to monthly subscription is being processed at a digital IT platform which would play a strong role in building a smart and prosperous Bangladesh by 2041 as envisioned by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
