Universal pension: the government approves the bill

Yesterday the cabinet gave final approval to the Universal Pension Management Bill 2022.

People between the ages of 18 and 50 can participate in this pension plan. Bangladeshis abroad can also participate, cabinet secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told reporters at the secretariat after a cabinet meeting.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting virtually from her office.

He said the cabinet approved the bill on the condition that it be approved by the legislative division. It will then be tabled in parliament.

According to the bill, a person will have to provide a premium for at least 10 years to obtain a pension from the age of 60 until death. The amount of the bonus will be determined by a rule under the proposed law, he added.

“If an elderly person dies before the age of 75, the candidate will receive the pension for the remaining time. If someone dies at 62, their candidate will receive a pension for 13 years,” he said.

At any time, people can opt out of the program and they will get their money back, he said.

Under the bill, there will be a five-member national pensions authority headed by a chairman and also a 15-member governing body with the finance minister at its head, the cabinet secretary said.

The Finance Division has placed the Universal Pension Management Bill 2022, aimed at placing the growing elderly population under a sustainable social safety net so they can better cope with the fallout from unemployment, illness, complications of old age or scarcity amid the high life expectancy rate.

Also yesterday, the cabinet approved a proposal for Bangladesh to sign and ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for people who are blind, visually impaired or print disabled.

The cabinet reversed its previous decision on the creation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, which was taken in 2015.