The government plans to introduce a universal pension scheme in the upcoming fiscal year, according to Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
"In my budget speech for FY20, I outlined the establishment of the universal pension scheme. Now, I am very glad to announce that the government has decided to introduce a universal pension system from the next fiscal year," Kamal said as he rolled out a Tk 6.78 trillion budget in parliament on Thursday.
Noting that the number of working people in Bangladesh outstrips its elderly population at present, Kamal believes it is "high time" to establish a universal pension system, reports bdnews24.com.
"Under various programmes for social protection of the elderly and needy communities, our government is providing allowances to about 11.5 million beneficiaries. Bearing in mind, the government’s election pledge, a policy decision has been taken to enact the ‘Universal Pension Management Act, 2022’ to introduce a universal pension system to ensure a sustainable social safety net for the elderly and the needy people," he said.
"The implementation of the universal pension scheme will bring a large number of citizens from both the formal and informal sectors under the institutional social safety net."
Once the law is enacted, there will be an opportunity to gradually scale down the existing social security programmes, according to Kamal.
The minister also proposed to allocate a total of Tk 1.13 trillion in the national spending plan for the FY23 for the social safety net, which is 16.75 per cent of the total budget and 2.55 per cent of GDP.