LAHORE, Oct 11: The Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) has established an information counter at the Lahore airport to assist expatriates and brief them on its schemes round-the-clock.

OPF staff introduce ‘foreign exchange remittance card (FERC)’ and ‘pension scheme for overseas Pakistanis’ to the expats at the departure and arrival lounges besides its counter.

As remittances by overseas Pakistanis through normal banking channels are a vital source of balance of payments support for the country, the OPF has offered different incentives for the non-resident Pakistanis remitting foreign currency equivalent to US $2,500 per annum and US $10,000 per annum. Besides other incentives, the counter staff assist the Pakistanis, who fall in the two categories, for priority custom and immigration clearance.

Since the establishment of the counter, the staff have so far briefed around 1,500 overseas Pakistanis at the arrival and departure lounges.

The staff also introduce newly-launched pension scheme to overseas Pakistanis.

Pakistan is the first country in the region which offers a pension scheme for its overseas citizens.

There are millions of Pakistanis all over the world. A majority of them, especially those working in the Middle East, belong to informal sector and do not enjoy any social security cover either in the country of employment or at home.

OPF officials say that the need for this social security net is badly needed in old age or in case of a serious disability or at the death of a wage earner. The scheme is being managed by the Overseas Pakistanis Pension Trust, a subsidiary of the OPF.

Giving details of the pension scheme, an official said the scheme was self-contributory. Each migrant has an option to decide how much he or she wants to contribute. The minimum contribution has been fixed at Rs24,000 per annum payable in US dollars ($384) for 10 years.

A pension plan with lump sum contribution, maturing after five years, is also offered.

The staff also provides all information and literature as required by the overseas Pakistanis. “It extends all humanly possible assistance to expats in briefing area, arrival lounge and in office.”