Govt recruits after 1 July to be enrolled in universal pension scheme

The government officers recruited after 1 July this year will be entitled to the newly launched universal pension scheme, instead of the conventional post-retirement pension benefits.

Employees of all self-governed, autonomous, state-run, and statutory entities will fall under the purview of the new decision, according to a gazette notification of the Finance Ministry’s Financial Institutions Division.

As per the prevailing system, the government employees deposit money in the general provident fund (GPF) and those of autonomous and state-run corporations in contributory provident fund (CPF), with interest rates ranging from 11 to 13 per cent.

Employees who receive salaries from the revenue sector use the GPF and those who receive from other sectors use the CPF for pension facilities. However, they will now be enrolled in the universal pension scheme.

There are more than 400,000 employees in nearly 400 self-governed, autonomous, state-run, and statutory organisations in the country. They include all public universities, including Dhaka University, all corporations, Petrobangla, export promotion bureau (EPB), BSTI, and so on.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the pension scheme on 17 August last year, with an aim to bring around 100 million people under the facility. Initially, it was structured into four separate schemes for private sector employees, non-resident Bangladeshis, individuals from the informal sector, and low-income individuals.

Under the schemes, beneficiaries aged between 18 to 50 will receive pension benefits until the age of 60, while those above 50 will enjoy lifelong benefits, provided they contribute for a minimum of 10 years.

Conversations with the national pension authority revealed that the government has been in efforts to revive the universal pension schemes. The latest decision to enroll the government officials is a part of the plan.

The pension authority is planning to roll out a new scheme – Prattay – for new recruits in independent autonomous, state-run, and statutory organisations after 1 July. At the same time, there might be scopes for the current employees to enroll in the pension scheme, subject to revision of their current pension facilities.

Golam Mostafa, a member of the national pension authority, said a new scheme called Prattay will be launched under the universal pension scheme for the officials recruited in the independent, autonomous, state-run, and statutory organisations after 1 July. The revision of regulations is underway and is likely to be announced next week.

Asked if the benefits will decrease for the new recruits, Golam Mostafa said it varies. They reached the decision after long study and analysis.