Officials and employees of government, autonomous, and similar organizations, who will be appointed on and after July 1, will come under the Universal Pension Scheme (UPS).
Those already serving in the organizations will not be entitled to the UPS, said Md Golam Mostofa, a member of the National Pension Authority (NPA).
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bank (BB) has instructed the managing directors (MDs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) of scheduled banks to encourage the employees of private banks to join the pension scheme.
On August 17 last year, Bangladesh entered the era of the much-hyped UPS meant for the entire population of the country aged above 18, who will start enjoying lifetime pension facilities upon turning 60.
Some 19,158 people have contributed to the UPS in about six months, and around Tk28.67 crore was deposited over the period.
Initially, four pension schemes out of six—Pragati, Surokkha, Samata, and Prabashi—were launched, while two others will be introduced later.
Economists say that a large portion of the population of the country is still not aware of this financial protection. This is why the NPA wants to make it easier for expatriates to participate. Besides, attractive initiatives are being taken to promote UPS among the people of the country.
On March 13, the Finance Ministry published a gazette notification in line with the Universal Pension Management Act-2023.
“Under Sub-section (2) of Section 14 of the Universal Pension Management Act-2023, the government brings under the pension net all officials and employees of self-governed, autonomous, state-run, and statutory entities who join on or after July 1 next,” the gazette reads.
Section 14(2) of the law says: “Government or semi-government or autonomous or private institutions may participate in the universal pension scheme, and in this case, the share of contribution of the employees and institutions shall be determined by the authority; provided that, notwithstanding anything contained in any other laws in force for the time being, employees who are working in government, semi-government or autonomous bodies shall be excluded from the UPS until a gazette notification is issued.”
Earlier, the Banking Regulations and Policy Department of the central bank issued its directive to the scheduled banks on February 8.
According to the directive, the government wants to include people from all walks of life in a sustainable and well-organized social security circle. To fulfil this objective of the government, the officers and employees of banks other than state-owned commercial banks and specialized banks can participate in the universal pension scheme.
Therefore, the central bank has given instructions that MDs of private banks should take the necessary measures to motivate them.