Pension authority to be established very soon: Kamal

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today said a pension authority will be established very soon and will be activated through appointment of necessary manpower.

“I pledged to introduce a universal pension system in the budget speech for FY2022-23 following our election manifesto. That work has progressed substantially,” he said.

The minister said this while placing over Taka 7.61 lakh crore proposed national budget for FY23-24 at Jatiya Sangsad in the city.

Kamal said the ‘Universal Pension Management Act, 2023’ has already been passed by the Parliament.

“I hope, it will be possible to roll out the scheme from FY2023-24. Under the proposed scheme, a beneficiary can enjoy pension benefits subject to the payment of subscription up to the age of 60 years if s/he enrolls at the age between 18 to 50 years, whereas those who enroll at their age of more than 50 years have to pay subscription for a minimum of 10 years,” he added.

He said the expatriate Bangladeshi will be able to participate in this scheme. “If the pensioner dies before attaining the age of 75 years while on pension, the nominee of the pensioner will be entitled to the pension for the remaining period of the pensioner’s completion of 75 years. If the subscriber dies before paying the subscription for at least 10 years, the deposited money will be returned to the nominee along with the profit,” he added.

He mentioned that a maximum of 50 percent of the deposited amount can be withdrawn as loan by the subscriber by submitting an application.

“Contributions to the pension fund will be treated as investment and tax rebate can be availed against it. Besides, the amount received as monthly pension will be exempted from income tax. Introduction of Universal Pension System is a very significant initiative for the inclusive development strategy of the Prime Minister,” he added.