Bangladesh Ministry of Finance issues new family pension rules

The Ministry of Finance has issued a notification regarding new rules for family pensions for the widows or widowers of deceased government officials and employees. Under the new regulations, effective from July 1, surviving spouses will receive lifelong family pensions on the condition that they do not remarry. To maintain this benefit, they must submit an annual undertaking or certificate to the accounts office confirming they have not remarried. However, this requirement is waived for widows over the age of 50.

The new system also establishes updated calculations for pension rates based on years of service. The pension rate will be determined by the last drawn basic salary, ranging from 21 percent for five years of service up to a maximum of 90 percent for those with 25 years of service or more.

Additionally, the government has set new limits for net pensions. For existing pensioners, the maximum net pension has been capped at 70,200 BDT. The notification also outlines specific percentage increases for various net pension brackets to determine the new monthly amounts.