Universal Pension Scheme: 31-40 age group showing most interest

People belonging to the 31-40 age group have so far enroled the most for the newly-launched universal pension scheme.

Of the 6,103 subscribers as of 8:30am yesterday, 2,654 belonged to this age group, putting in Tk 1.39 crore, according to the National Pension Authority (NPA) statistics.

They were followed by 41–50-year-olds (1,837) and 21–30-year-olds (1,198).

Some 25 people over the age of 61 signed up, while 76 18-20-year-olds also enrolled on the pension scheme.

NPA received a total of Tk 3.05 crore as of 8:30am yesterday, with the Pragati scheme, which is meant for private sector employers, seeing the most number of takers.

Of the 6,103 people who enroled for pension, 53 percent were for the Pragati package.

The Surokkha scheme, which is designed for the self-employed and the informal sector workers like farmers, rickshaw pullers and day labourers, saw the next highest number of enrolments: 1,828.

Some 875 people signed up for the ultra-poor group's Samata scheme, while the Probashi scheme for the expatriates had 148 takers.

Location-wise, the highest number of 1,839 people enroled in the Dhaka division, followed by Chattogram (1,654), Khulna (731), Rajshahi (544), Rangpur (390), Barishal (388), Mymensingh (352) and Sylhet (205).

"The response so far has been very encouraging -- and this came without any publicity about the scheme," Golam Mostofa, member (additional charge) of NPA, told The Daily Star.

Another finance ministry official said two separate funds under the new system will be created. One will be a fund for the pension authority while the other will be created with subscribers' deposited money.

He said the government will allocate money for the authority's fund as overhead costs.

On the other hand, money deposited by the subscribers will be invested in profitable ventures and a set of rules will be formulated soon in this regard, he added.

The much-anticipated scheme was launched by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually from the Gono Bhaban on August 17.

Citizens above the age of 18 can register for the scheme at the dedicated portal www.upension.gov.bd.

People will have to submit an application through the online portal of the pension authority for enrolment.

Upon successful registration, the beneficiaries will be able to pay instalments at a bank branch or through the mobile financial service platform, online bank transfer or a bank card.

Primarily, Sonali Bank has been selected to receive money from subscribers. Later, more banks will be included for this purpose, officials said.

Under the Surokkha scheme, people can deposit Tk 1,000, Tk 2,000, Tk 3,000 or Tk 5,000 in monthly instalments.

The monthly instalment fee under the Somota scheme is Tk 1,000 whereas under the Probash scheme, the monthly fee is Tk 5,000, Tk 7,500 or Tk 10,000.

For the Progoti scheme, monthly instalment options are Tk 2,000, Tk 3,000 and Tk 5,000.

As per the rules, anyone paying monthly instalment fees for 10 consecutive years is eligible to receive the monthly pension.