IT’S a good news for the retired service holders as the government has introduced electronic fund transfer [EFT] to receive their pension without any hassle. We know, the retired persons have to suffer a lot to move their pension files due to widespread corruption at every stage. There are many examples where elderly persons were moving door to door to clear their pension files. So, the introduction of EFT would reduce the harassment of pension receivers as their money will be deposited in their own accounts automatically. And they can withdraw their money themselves. Even, they would get time-to-time update about their money through SMS in their mobile phones.
But another announcement of bringing the people of Bangladesh under a pension system seems highly ambitious. And frankly to say; it needs ‘magic’ to implement the decision at this depressing stage of economy. Finance Minister AMA Muhith recently has said there will be an outline in the upcoming budget to include the 16-crore people under the pension scheme. Finance Secretary also said the implementation of the pension scheme will be done gradually after the Finance Minister draws its outline.
Usually, pension issue comes after retirement. In our country, the retirement issue mostly relates to those who are engaged in jobs and the retirement age in public service is 59 years. The pension system here is mainly observed in government services. Apart from it, the Old Age Allowance Programme covers only a small number of elderly people who are not covered by pension. On the other hand, the agriculture sector has no retirement concept; though about 4 crore labours are working there. In the same way, the migrant workers do not have any pension facility. Moreover, there is no pension for private sector workers, they receive some gratuity at retirement in a very few cases. However, some autonomous organisations namely universities, nationalised enterprises, banks, etc, have introduced pension system nowadays.
The number of workers is higher in the informal sector than that of formal sector in the country. Presently, the elderly population is more or less 80 lakh of which 45 lakh are male and 35 lakh female. The housewives in our country are not considered as jobholders. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey Bangladesh 2015-16 done by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, rural areas have 18.2 lakh unemployed people, more than double the number of those 7.7 lakh, in urban areas. The urban-rural population ratio is 30:70. But we think, the actual number of unemployed people is more than double.
Firstly it needs to create sufficient jobs in the country to solve the burning issue of unemployment. It will not bring any positive result to give bogus assurance to the people, while the economy has not sufficient strength to bear the burden. It will not easy to bring all the population under pension system without engaging them in income-generating activities.
No need to announce any fictitious plan targeting the next general election.
But another announcement of bringing the people of Bangladesh under a pension system seems highly ambitious. And frankly to say; it needs ‘magic’ to implement the decision at this depressing stage of economy. Finance Minister AMA Muhith recently has said there will be an outline in the upcoming budget to include the 16-crore people under the pension scheme. Finance Secretary also said the implementation of the pension scheme will be done gradually after the Finance Minister draws its outline.
Usually, pension issue comes after retirement. In our country, the retirement issue mostly relates to those who are engaged in jobs and the retirement age in public service is 59 years. The pension system here is mainly observed in government services. Apart from it, the Old Age Allowance Programme covers only a small number of elderly people who are not covered by pension. On the other hand, the agriculture sector has no retirement concept; though about 4 crore labours are working there. In the same way, the migrant workers do not have any pension facility. Moreover, there is no pension for private sector workers, they receive some gratuity at retirement in a very few cases. However, some autonomous organisations namely universities, nationalised enterprises, banks, etc, have introduced pension system nowadays.
The number of workers is higher in the informal sector than that of formal sector in the country. Presently, the elderly population is more or less 80 lakh of which 45 lakh are male and 35 lakh female. The housewives in our country are not considered as jobholders. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey Bangladesh 2015-16 done by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, rural areas have 18.2 lakh unemployed people, more than double the number of those 7.7 lakh, in urban areas. The urban-rural population ratio is 30:70. But we think, the actual number of unemployed people is more than double.
Firstly it needs to create sufficient jobs in the country to solve the burning issue of unemployment. It will not bring any positive result to give bogus assurance to the people, while the economy has not sufficient strength to bear the burden. It will not easy to bring all the population under pension system without engaging them in income-generating activities.
No need to announce any fictitious plan targeting the next general election.
