The Universal Pension Scheme "Pratyay" kicks off its journey today (1 July) with employees joining 400 autonomous, semi-autonomous, state-owned, statutory, or similar organisations, and their subsidiary institutions from today onwards falling under this new scheme.
Under the Pratyay pension scheme, employees will contribute 10% of their basic salary, with an equal amount contributed by the respective institution or organisation. These funds will be deposited into the pension authority's account. For an employee contributing Tk2,500 per month for 30 years, their contributions will total Tk9,00,000, with the organisation contributing an additional Tk900,000, making a total of Tk1,800,000.
If the employee passes away at the age of 75, they will receive Tk11,219,400 in pension over 15 years, which is 12.47 times their own contributions.
According to the government's decision, new employees joining companies where the government holds more than 50% of the shares, such as Padma Oil and Jamuna Oil, will no longer receive pensions under the existing rules.
The new pension system will reduce benefits for government university teachers. As a result, teachers are demanding the withdrawal of the new system. In protest, an indefinite strike has been announced at all public universities starting today, Monday.
The Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers' Association has opposed the decision, calling it "discriminatory." The Dhaka University Teachers' Association has formed a five-member committee to compare the current and new pension systems.
The committee's review report indicates that the new pension system will provide 2.7 times the monthly amount compared to the current system. However, it will require deductions from the salaries of teachers, officers, and employees. There will be no lump-sum payment upon retirement, annual pension increments, or lifetime pensions for the nominee of the pensioner. Teachers argue that overall, their benefits will decrease under the new system, calling it discriminatory.
The universal pension system was launched on August 17 last year with four separate schemes: Pragati, Suraksha, Probash, and Samata. As of last Thursday, these programs have enrolled 332,773 subscribers, with deposits totaling Tk97 crore.
