AS regards the matter of ‘Behbood certificates’ issued nine years back for senior citizens by the National Savings Centres, the holders of these certificates, bearing profit at the rate of 16.8pc, are mostly in their 70s.

Issued in 2008 the certificates are due for renewal in the second half of this year. Upon their renewal the present rate of profit, i.e. 9.36pc, would be applied to these certificates, meaning a monthly income of Rs42,000 on the investment of Rs300,000 million will be reduced to almost half i.e. Rs23,000, whereas the cost of living by now has gone up. One fails to understand how these senior citizens would be able to make both ends meet.

‘Behbood’ means ‘well-being’ and so the certificates were launched for the well-being of pensioners and senior citizens. Why has this ‘well-being’ been linked to the State Bank of Pakistan’s bank rate, which has come down to its lowest?. How funny that measures taken by the government for the well-being of senior citizens have also hit a new low with the downward fluctuation of the bank rate.

Last year so many senior citizens protested, but the former ailing finance minister paid no heed to this issue.

The present finance minister should be kind enough to pay attention to this problem in the forthcoming budget and an independent rate of ‘Behbood’ must apply to Behbood certificates, maybe at minimum rate of 15pc (still saving the cost by 1.8 per cent — from 16.8 to 15pc) which should be raised with the increase in the cost-of-living in the country.

Aminur Rehman Khan

Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2018