KARACHI: The Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) on Monday announced the disbursement of Rs5 billion among 388,684 registered pensioners.

The federal government contributed Rs2.4bn to the total amount which was disbursed in February for pension and five months arrears.

In September 2018, EOBI increased the monthly pension amount by 20 per cent. Following the increase, monthly pensions reached between Rs6,500-13,416.

In order to keep the institution financially viable and to sustain the increase in EOBI pension rates, employers have been requested to fulfill their legal and moral obligations for the coverage of their employees and pay a contribution under current minimum wage of Rs15,000.

On the basis of minimum wage of Rs15,000 fixed by the government, employer share comes at Rs750 per employee per month and an employee’s share is of Rs150 per month.

This means higher wages would result in higher pension for registered employees. Variation in minimum and maximum pensions is based on length of service and formal pension adopted by the EOBI under the EOB Act 1976.

As part of its responsibility in the Ease of Doing Business Sprint-IV, EOBI with the cooperation of Board of Inv­estment, State Bank of Pakistan and SECP has taken the initiative of online payment facility for its contributors.

Registered employers can generate payment vouchers and pay EOBI contributions by using internet banking from their offices without visiting bank branches.

Furthermore, pensioners can draw pension amount via ATMs without incurring “switch fee.” However, to ensure genuine payments, pensioners will be required to provide bi-annual proof of life through biometric verification.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2019