Universal pension: Prottoy scheme introduced for newly-recruited employees
The new scheme will not impact the existing pension and gratuity benefits of current officers and employees
The government has introduced a new scheme – Prottoy – for the newly-recruited employees of autonomous, state-owned and other statutory organisations and their subordinates.
Employees of these institutions who will join on 1 July 2024 or onwards can enroll in the new scheme.
The new scheme will not impact the existing pension and gratuity benefits of current officers and employees, said a statutory regulatory order issued by the regulations wing of the Finance Division on 13 March.
However, individuals with a minimum of 10 years of remaining service can opt to participate in the scheme if they wish to do so.
The employing organisation will deduct a maximum of 10% of the basic salary of an employee or a maximum of Tk5,000, whichever is less than the salary, and the organisation will also deposit the same amount in the employee's account. If the employee wishes, they can increase the subscription rate and pay it personally.
Under the Prottoy scheme, if an individual contributes Tk2,500 monthly from their own salary upon joining an institution and continues to contribute the same amount for 30 years, they will receive a pension of Tk62,330 per month upon retirement, starting from the age of 60 years.
Currently, autonomous or statutory bodies, and state-owned companies without pension provisions have the Contributory Provident Fund (CPF). Employees contribute 10% of their basic salary, while the company contributes 8.33%.
From this fund, employees receive retirement benefits. Additionally, employees receive an annual gratuity equal to two months of basic salary, mainly funded by the government budget.