January 5, 2006	Thursday	Zilhaj 4, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 4: The Employees Old-age Benefits Institution under its on-going restructuring process would soon bring a series of potential schemes for maximum benefits to employees and employers with administrative reforms to enhance EOBI’s efficiency.

“ On Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s directives, the EOBI is being restructured in such a way that all stakeholders are benefited to the maximum level.

EOBI’s board of directors would finalize the restructuring plan,” said EOBI chairman Brig. (Retd) Akhtar Zamin while addressing a press conference here at the EOBI headquarters on Wednesday.

He said through various models EOBI would bring maximum people into its net, including agriculture sector workers, self-employed people, overseas Pakistanis, who would have separate pension formula.

Since its inception in 1976, the EOBI had paid Rs 15,467 million amongst 274,881 pensioners — 184,100 old-age pensioners, 76,126 survivor pensioners, 6,531 invalidity pensioners and 8,124 entitled to old-age grant.

So far it had collected Rs25,822 million besides Rs4.45 billion contributed by government as a matching grant. The total registered establishments throughout the country were 54,954 and 1.3 million people were contributing towards this WWF. The insured persons were 2,315, 199, he informed.

Listing the rectifying steps taken by him over last five months of his tenure as EOBI Chief, Brig. Akhtar Zamin said that now all kinds of pension cases would be finalized within 30 days. The pension amount for widows was being brought at par with other pensioners.

“Widows case has been put up to the Prime Minister to increase pension amount for them as they deserved more support after the death of their spouses,” he remarked.

Now a registered pensioner gets Rs 1,000 per month against Rs 425 five years back, he said, adding that this amount was likely to be increased in future.

Under the present arrangement, the EOBI receives Rs 180 from an employer which was 6 per cent of the minimum monthly pay of Rs 3,000. While an employee contributes Rs 30 to the EOBI’s Workers Pensions Fund. Except owner/director, everybody working in an establishment was supposed to be registered under EOBI, he said.

Mr Akhtar said he was pursuing the concerned authorities to get government’s matching grant restored which was discontinued after paying over period of 10 years , from July 1986 to July 1995.

“I have talked to Prime Minister as well on the issue,” he said.

He suggested that the EOBI pension fund should have at least 50-year sovereign guarantee as such a fund was considered as the best fund in the world.

Mr Akhtar said that the EOBI was exploring all available avenues to increase profits from its fund so that it could go on with its better pension plans without government’s support.

He said EOBI made additional investment of Rs 16,652.51 million in the year 2005 at Rs 102, 504.515 million against Rs 85,888.002 million on 30th November 2004, registering 19.39% increase.

EOBI had invested major portion of its investment in real estate which was under public sector to escape risk of investing in private sector. Besides it had invested in government-guaranteed bonds and stocks.

He said EOBI had got registered its own real estate company with SECP two months back and this would start its functioning very soon. This would help boost EOBI investments and increase its profits.—APP