Published:
Jun 09, 2022 6:52:57 p.m.
The government plans to introduce a universal pension scheme in the next fiscal year, according to Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
“In my budget speech for the fiscal year 2020, I described the establishment of the universal pension system. Now, I am very happy to announce that the government has decided to introduce a universal pension system at from next financial year,” Kamal said as he rolled out a budget of Tk 6.78 trillion to parliament on Thursday.
Noting that the number of working people in Bangladesh currently exceeds its elderly population, Kamal believes it is “high time” to establish a universal pension system, reports bdnews24.com.
“As part of various social welfare programs for the elderly and communities in need, our government is providing allowances to approximately 11.5 million beneficiaries. In view of the government’s electoral commitment, a political decision has been made to enact the ‘Universal Pensions Administration Act, 2022.’ to introduce a universal pension system to ensure a sustainable social safety net for the elderly and those in need,” he said .
“The implementation of the universal pension scheme will bring a large number of citizens from the formal and informal sectors under the institutional social safety net.”
Once the law is enacted, it will be possible to phase out existing social security programs, according to Kamal.
The minister also proposed to allocate a total of 1,130 billion taka in the national expenditure plan for FY23 to the social safety net, or 16.75% of the total budget and 2.55% of GDP.
