The inauguration of the universal pension program is today
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will officially inaugurate the universal pension scheme today though it was launched last Sunday, keeping in mind the four classes of people in the country.
The Prime Minister's Office has informed that she will inaugurate the program by connecting virtually from Ganobhaban at 10 am. Officials of Gopalganj, Bagerhat, Rangpur District and Bangladesh Embassy in Saudi Arabia will also join the event virtually.
Citizens aged 18 years and above will be eligible for universal pension through 4 schemes from the day of inauguration. By joining these schemes, private sector employees or expatriates will get a minimum of 2.30 times to a maximum of 12.31 times their total contribution as pension.
The government is going to launch the universal pension scheme to establish a sustainable social security system for senior citizens. Initially, the pension was announced for those aged 18 to 50 years, but the government later relaxed the age limit and decided to bring people over 50 under it.
However, to get pension benefits for life or at least till the age of 75 years, the contribution has to be paid at a fixed rate for at least 10 years. There will be an opportunity to change the contribution rate and scheme after joining the public pension scheme.
Currently, four types of pension programs are being launched for four categories of people. These are Progoti, Surakkha, Samata and Probashi.
Among these, programs titled 'Progoti' for private sector employees, 'Surakkha' for self-employed persons, 'Prabasi' for expatriate Bangladeshis and 'Samata' for the low-income population of the country will be launched.