Universal pension being introduced

The government is going to introduce the universal pension scheme from the fiscal year 2022-2023.

Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal made this announcement on Thursday while placing budget for FY 2022-2023 in the national parliament.

The finance minister said, "It is high time to establish a universal pension system in Bangladesh as at present the number of working people is much higher than the elderly population."

In the 2008 election manifesto, prime minister Sheikh Hasina promised to introduce a universal pension scheme nationally to ensure old-age protection for the elderly citizens under a sustainable and well-organised social security framework, AHM Mustafa Kamal added.

The minister said, "Around 85 per cent of workforce of Bangladesh’s labour market is employed in the informal sector. As there is no institutional social security framework for the informal sector and expatriate workers, there are chances of uncertainty of livelihood at their old age."

The finance minister said a policy decision has been taken to enact the 'Universal Pension Management Act, 2022' to introduce a universal pension system to ensure a sustainable social safety net for the elderly and the needy people.

The law has already been drafted. After passing through all necessary formalities, it will be possible to present this important law to the National Parliament by 2022, Mustafa Kamal added.