The Universal Pension Management Bill, 2023 was passed in the parliament with the aim to bring the country’s growing elderly population under a universal pension scheme.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal moved the bill and it was passed by voice vote, reports UNB.
As per the Bill, all Bangladeshi nationals aged from 18 to 50 years can participate in this pension scheme. Expatriate Bangladeshis are also eligible for the benefits.
The Finance Division has prepared the draft of the bill seeking to bring the growing elderly population under a sustainable social safety net.
This will particularly benefit the elderly population when they become jobless or become afflicted with diseases, paralysis, old age or other similar conditions, or extreme poverty amid a high life expectancy rate.
As per the draft law, a person will have to provide a premium for at least 10 years uninterruptedly to get the pension from the age of 60 until death.
If an elderly person dies before the age of 75 years, the nominee will get a pension for the remaining time.
However, the amount of the premium will be determined by a rule under the proposed law.
According to the proposed law, there will be a five-member national pension authority headed by a chairman and also a 15-member governing body with the finance minister as its chair.
The government will appoint the chairman and the other four members of the national pension authority.