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Published on February 23, 2022
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the authorities concerned to set up a universal pension scheme for people aged above 60 and also for those who worked in the informal sector.
The pension scheme was in the election manifesto of the Bangladesh Awami League.
If an individual aged 18 or above deposits Tk1,000 per month, the savings will be around Tk5 lakh when they turn 60. But the 60-year-old citizen will be receiving Tk60,000 per month as pension until death, according to the universal pension plan Bangladesh is set to introduce, according to an official.
The finance ministry official said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will announce the details of the pension scheme on Saturday next week. Prior to that, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal will brief the reporters about the plan on Wednesday after the cabinet committee meeting on public purchase.
According to finance ministry officials who are privy to the universal pension plan, any citizen aged at least 18 to maximum 60 will be eligible to open the pension account with the national identity card (NID).
However, public employees and autonomous organisation staff will not qualify for the scheme.
According to the latest data of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the life expectancy of Bangladeshis is 72.8 years.
Ministry officials said a law for the universal pension scheme is being formulated, and it will be ready within one and a half or two months. There will be a pension authority under the law, and the scheme will be launched in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
There will be no contribution from the state coffer for "solvent citizens" in the scheme. The government will lend support only to people belonging to "marginal classes", according to the officials.
The government will invest the pension fund in treasury bills, bonds and infrastructural development projects, and pay 10% interest for it.
On Thursday last week, Senior Finance Secretary Abdur Rauf Talukder placed the universal pension strategy paper before the prime minister. Subsequently, the finance ministry said the prime minister gave various instructions on the strategy document prepared in the light of international experience, context and economic potential of Bangladesh.
The PM asked the Finance Division to take measures promptly for formulating a law in this regard.
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