The Universal Pension Scheme, introduced on August 17, 2023, marked a significant step as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh officially announced its inception. This well-structured pension initiative aims to encompass all working citizens. Notably, a crucial demographic within the country's workforce is individuals employed in the private sector. The Universal Pension Scheme includes the ‘Pragati’ package that accommodates the participation of private organizations and their employees. Let’s take a look into the process of how the private sector employees of Bangladesh can register for the Pragati Universal Pension Scheme. 

General Rules of the Universal Pension Scheme 2023

The establishment of the scheme falls under the Universal Pensions Management Act 2023, passed on January 31, 2023. In order to facilitate its seamless execution, specific guidelines have been outlined, which also extend to non-government employees.

- Eligibility for enrollment in the scheme lies within the age bracket of 18 to 50 years, based on the National Identity Card (NID). Individuals beyond the age of 50 can register for the scheme under special circumstances, with a tenure of 10 years. This signifies that after contributing consecutively for 10 years, eligibility for a lifelong pension is attained.
 
- Online registration is mandatory to participate in the scheme. Beneficiaries already availing benefits under the Social Security Program are required to forego their existing privileges if they wish to be part of the scheme.

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- Each contributor will have a dedicated account for the pension scheme.

- The pensioner might pass away before reaching the age of 75 years while receiving the pension. In such an event, the remaining pension will be disbursed to their designated nominee or beneficiaries.
 
- The aforementioned scenario might also occur during the subscription phase. In that case, a minimum subscription period of 10 years will be considered as the basis. If a subscriber passes away before completing this duration, their nominee will receive the accumulated contribution amount along with any accrued profits.
 
- Contributions made towards receiving pension benefits will be treated as investments. However, recipients will not be subjected to income tax on their pension disbursements.

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- For various government services, the service recipient has to pay a fixed cash-out charge of 0.70 (zero point seven) percent. In the case of this scheme as well, subscribers are required to pay BDT. 7 per thousand while subscribing through mobile.
 
Effective from August 16, the scheme has applied identical service charges for MFS (mobile financial services) as for other government services.

Pragati: Universal Pension Scheme for Bangladeshi Non-Government Employees

Monthly Pension against Installment Rate

Source: https://upension.gov.bd/Public/Packages

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Private sector employees or officers can join the Pragati scheme based on their contribution levels as specified above. Companies involved and their owners can also enroll in the Pragati scheme at an institutional level. In this context, the company will equally share the stipulated contribution amount with its employees. This implies that employees won't be solely responsible for the entire installment amount; rather, half will be contributed by the employees and half by the company.

Universal Pension Pragati Scheme Registration Process for Bangladeshi Non-Government Employees

Individuals from all professional backgrounds, including the non-government sector, must register for the scheme via the UPension website. Directly accessing the "Pensioner Registration" link on the site is the initial step.

Agreement to Preliminary Terms

The initial step entails agreeing to the fundamental registration terms by confirming identity. Progressing to subsequent stages necessitates consent to the following terms and conditions:

- No current employment within Government, autonomous, government-related, or semi-governmental organizations.
 
- Exclusion from receiving benefits of any nature from external autonomous or Governmental entities outside of this scheme.

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- Ineligibility for receiving any allowance under the social security program.
 
The user is instructed to click on the 'I agree' button located beneath the terms and advance to the subsequent page. Applications containing inaccurate information will face rejection. Should discrepancies in the provided information surface during subscription payment, refunds will not be issued.

Selecting Income Category

At this point, individuals need to specify their scheme designated to their own income category. Private sector employees should opt for the "Pragati" category. Subsequently, a 10, 13, or 17-digit NID number, date of birth, mobile number, and email address should be provided. A one-time password (OTP) will be sent to the candidate's mobile and email for authentication. This OTP should be accurately entered in the designated spaces on the online form. Following this, the captcha should be completed.

Personal Information

The subsequent section necessitates furnishing personal details. The required information includes the NID number, a photograph, full name in Bengali and English, parental names, and current and permanent addresses. Given that the NID number has been entered previously, this section will auto-populate. District, upazila, and division details are to be chosen from the separate dropdown lists.

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Occupation Information

Within this segment, there are some occupations in a provided list. Private employees should choose their profession from this list and input their annual income in numerical form.

Scheme Details

Candidates will determine their monthly contribution and payment frequency on this page. Three options for subscription payments will be presented: monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Candidates should select the preferred payment mode according to their convenience.

Payment Methods

Applicants need to specify the payment method and bank details. The account holder's name and account number (either the candidate's or the one from which subscriptions will be paid) are essential. The bank account type (savings or current) should be chosen, followed by the bank's routing number. This routing number facilitates online interbank transfers. In case the number is not familiar, it can readily be located through a search on the Google search engine.

Furthermore, within the confines of this online form, there exists the option to select the 'Don’t know the routing number' button, positioned alongside. This action prompts the emergence of a small box, requesting details such as the bank's name and branch. Accurate submission of this information results in an automatic update of the routing number at the specified location.

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Nominee Page

This stage necessitates inputting the nominee's details, including NID number and date of birth. Subsequently, additional information can be added via the "Add Nominee" button. This includes the nominee's mobile number, their relationship to the candidate, and the share of the candidate's portion that they will receive. In scenarios involving only one nominee, a single nominee will be allocated the entire portion.

The "Add More Nominees" option serves to include multiple nominees, providing room for additional nominees and their corresponding shares.

Data Verification and Ending Registration

Upon completing the form, personal, scheme, bank, and nominee details will be displayed together. Registration is deemed complete after verifying these details and confirming their accuracy. The completed application form can be downloaded and saved for future reference.

Subscription Payment for Pragati Scheme

The provided mobile number and email address within the application form will be used to communicate subscription rates and monthly payment dates.

The installment contributions should be deposited into the National Pension Authority's bank account within the stipulated time frame.

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If any unforeseen circumstance prevent timely payment, the contribution can be made within one month without incurring penalties.

If this one-month timeframe be exceeded, a penalty of 1 percent per day will be levied.

Failure to comply will result in the scheme account to be inactive.

Final Remarks

The private institutions within the nation are substantial contributors to the overall socio-economic landscape. These entities include a significant segment of the active, productive workforce each year. The increasing demographic of the aging population poses a threat of financial instability for this workforce. The Pragati Scheme holds the potential to provide a much-needed solution. The participation of non-government employees in the Universal Pension Scheme can empower them to ensure financial independence in their later years. Consequently, over-reliance on these employees during their retirement can be mitigated.

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