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We welcome cabinet’s nod to universal pension

Published : Friday, 24 June, 2022 at 12:00 AM  Count : 420

We welcome cabinet’s nod to universal pension

We welcome cabinet’s nod to universal pension

We wholeheartedly welcome the cabinet's positive nod to the draft of the Universal Pension Management Act, 2022.

We believe, the approval reflects government's sharp sense of responsibility and commitment towards the financial wellbeing of its people.

However, thanks to our Prime Minister, at the drop of whose hat, earlier in February this year, the authorities concerned jumped to work out a universal pension scheme for the people aged above 60 and those who serve in the informal sector.

As reported in this daily, people aged between 18 and 50 including expatriate Bangladeshis can participate in this pension scheme. Those participating will have to provide a premium for at least 10 years to draw pension from the age of 60 until death. And if they expire before 75, the nominee will get the pension for the remaining time.

However, the amount of premium will be determined by a rule under a proposed law.

Undoubtedly, the decision to bring all citizens above 60 under a pension scheme is also a humanitarian and groundbreaking step.

Needs be mentioned, introducing universal pension system was an electoral pledge of the sitting government. And in the manner the government kept its promise, we believe, will remain a textbook example for future political governments.

The risk of social insecurity is at an alarming rise in the country tuned with increasing life expectancy and elderly people. The average life expectancy in Bangladesh is 72 years now. Understandably, the need for a universal pension scheme had long been felt.

Now with the scheme on board, people in low income tier, especially, rickshaw pullers, day labourers, landless farmers, domestic helps and small traders will greatly benefit from it.

However, Universal Pension Scheme is a brainchild of the idea of Welfare State. It is already a reality in many countries today. Proper implementation of this scheme will surely help Bangladesh move forward towards reaching its goal of a welfare state.

Importantly enough, to keep the scheme going smooth, government must address the attended challenges, underlies in it.

Since, lack of proper monitoring in the past had nipped the government's many notable initiatives in the bud - so it is an imperative to ensure accountability, transparency and political goodwill while implementing the universal scheme.

Corruption in state-sponsored old age allowances, widow allowances; mother and child welfare programme, distressed and disabled programme Kabikha and Tabikha did the round in media on various occasions.

In order to successfully implement the pension scheme, government must draw lessons from its failures from previous schemes, so to avert any repetition of that in this case.

As there is a wider implication of public interest in the scheme, its modus operandi must remain above any question standing tall on maximum accountability. And to ensure that, the scheme's regulatory mechanism must not have any legal loopholes.






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