New recruitments in Punjab to be made as per new pension rules: minister

LAHORE: Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht has said that all new recruitments in Punjab will be made in accordance with the new retirement and pension rules, which will be prepared under the defined contribution model.

He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting on pension reforms here on Wednesday. Punjab Finance Secretary Iftikhar Amjad, Bank of Punjab President Zafar Masood, Pension Fund General Manager Syed Shahnawaz Nadir Shah, and officials from the Sub National Governance Programme and finance department also attended the meeting.

He further said that a new pension scheme would be introduced for new recruits. “The new pension scheme model will be applicable to all future government employees. The new rules will also play an important role in removing the defects in the existing pension scheme,” he added.

He pointed out that the rising pension bill was putting an extra burden on the provincial budget and subsequently squeezing the volume of the development fund; hence, little money is left for vital social sectors, including education, health. “Thus, it is imperative that we review the existing pension system in order to provide basic necessities of life to the people and increase investment in development works,” he added.

Giving details about the existing and proposed scheme, he said that as per the prevailing pension rules, government employees cannot leave the service before 25 years of service or 55 years of age; under the proposed scheme, no time frame will be set for the new recruits.

“Under the existing system, there is no incentive (in terms of pension) for an employee with less than 10 years of service to leave the job; however, the pension scheme for new recruits will have access to pension accumulated over the time of their service. A fund will be set up in partnership between the Punjab government and government employees, under which a monthly contribution for pension will be made by both the parties; however a major part of the fund will be paid by the government,” he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022