The Punjab government intends to decrease the pension of all retired government employees, following recommendations from the World Bank (WB).
A committee under the chair of the Ministers of Finance, Law, and Parliamentary Affairs has been constituted in this regard, which will initiate reforms in the province’s pension structure.
In addition, secretaries of the relevant public departments will be a part of it in order to identify ways for decreasing pension-related expenses. Moreover, proposals from the World Bank under the Punjab Resource Improvement and Digital Effectiveness (PRIDE) initiative will also be taken into account.
According to concerned quarters, Punjab’s pension expenses have reached 73 percent of the revenue, necessitating immediate reforms to stabilize the fiscal condition in the province.
Separately, Punjab’s Finance Department has also formed proposals regarding the removal of medical allowance of government officials.
As per the details, the proposals have been forwarded to the provincial government for introducing reforms in the salary and pension frameworks of the government employees.
The department has proposed that employees be issued health cards and insurance rather than medical allowances. It is pertinent to mention that the government will save Rs. 9 billion annually by eliminating the medical allowance.
