Daily Times

In Pakistan, social security is a measure taken by the government to maintain an individual or family income when some or all sources of income are finished. The benefits associated with social security include providing cash, medical bills, domestic help during illness, legal aid, or funeral expenses. Social security plays a crucial role in providing a safety net for our citizens, ensuring financial protection and support during the need of the hour. The system includes different programs and initiatives to address the economic and social well-being of individuals and families across the country. One key aspect of security is pensions. It is the amount that every retired government employee receives every month to meet their expenditures. Moreover, pensions are vital in ensuring that individuals who have dedicated their working years to contributing to the betterment of our country can enjoy financial security in their retirement.

The Government of Pakistan announced the Employees’ Old-age Pensions Ordinance in 1972. However, this was never implemented. Later on, in 1976, this was substituted with an act of parliament called the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Act 1976. According to this, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan provides for all persons employed in government service. In addition, this act is applicable to the private sector only while the Government has created special systems for public-sector employees (where Civil Pension Rules are applicable), members of the armed forces, police officers, and employees of legislative bodies, local authorities, and railways. Other than these, the government also manages other social assistance programs for the welfare of needy citizens. Under the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance, 1980, benefits are provided to the poor Muslim citizens of Pakistan, while under the Pakistan Baitul Mal Act, 1992, and Benazir Income Support Program Ordinance, 2010, assistance is being provided to all the citizens of Pakistan irrespective of their religion.

Social Security laws provide for survivor benefits. This can include dependents such as widows and children. The deceased worker must be a pensioner at the time of death. 100% of the deceased minimum pension is distributed equally among the deceased’s spouses. If spouses are not alive, this is distributed among orphans. In the absence of a spouse and orphans, the parents of the deceased are paid this pension up to 5 years after the death of a worker. The minimum monthly pension depends from person to person, their pay scale at the time of retirement, and the years they serve in the government sector. Along with that, if an insured employee retires five years before reaching retirement age, he/she shall be entitled to an early but reduced old-age pension. In that case, the pension will be reduced by half a percent (0.5%) on a monthly basis or 6% on a yearly basis. So, a reduced pension can be paid to early male retirees from the age of 55 to 59 and female retirees from the age of 50 to 54.

Despite these efforts, the government of Pakistan faces several challenges in the effective implementation of social security programs. Issues such as administrative inefficiencies, limited coverage, and funding limitations cause delays in the smooth supply of pensions to the deserved ones. So, it is important that continued efforts should be made so that we can address these challenges and expand the reach of social security programs. Compared to welfare states like the UK, where the state itself takes care of every inhabitant, Pakistan does not have such a policy. Still, PESSI (Punjab Employees Social Security Institution) is performing outstandingly in serving retired employees. In this regard, Commissioner PESSI (Ms. Nadia Saqib) has collected around 1000 million rupees to benefit the institution in her six-month tenure. Her brilliant strategy has helped the government to take care of their loyal employees and ensure there is no interruption while paying pensions.

Social security is crucial for sustainable development, and in times of crisis, it plays a vital role in combating shocks, which helps weak and marginalized groups overcome the severe loss they experience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was thought to be a need of the hour to develop policies relating to social protection for economically unprotected people, as specifically in developing countries like Pakistan, the previous policies and choices were not enough to curb the effects in times of crisis. The Social Protection system of Pakistan was facing serious complications while coping with the shock (COVID-19) and disastrous situation (recent floods). It is a sad reality that in our country, social protection was taken into consideration mostly in the domain of social support, while the social security aspect of protection is less talked about and concerned about among the policy circles and the government itself.

The emergence of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) in 2008 laid the formal foundation of the large-scale social safety net program in terms of coverage and financial resource availability. However, it focused on unconditional cash transfer schemes, and these programs cannot be solely effective in poverty alleviation. Currently, there are more than 100 million Pakistanis who are struggling in different ways. Some are facing income poverty, while others are facing education poverty, etc. Now, the time has arrived for the government to make a policy to take the country out of the economic crisis, create job opportunities, and attract foreign funding. Hundreds of thousands of young ones are leaving the country on a daily basis just because of the ongoing scenarios. So, Pakistan needs to have a strong economic policy, cut down on expenditures, and spend as much of its budget on education and infrastructure as possible. And only then, we will be able to put the state back on track to success.

The Writer is a Senior Social and Economic Analyst

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