Act Unchanged: Pension Stopped If Retd Employee Found Guilty

If a government employee is convicted of a serious offense after retirement, the employing authority may cancel, suspend or revoke his retirement benefits in whole or in part. Although the Ministry of Public Administration put forward a proposal to amend this provision, the Cabinet did not approve it.

The proposal to amend the Public Service Act was raised by the Ministry of Public Administration at a virtual cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday (July 26th).

However, it was not approved. After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam told reporters at the Secretariat.

He said several sections of the Public Service Act, 2018 were proposed to be amended. Section 51 (4) of the Act states that if a retiree is convicted of a serious offense or convicted of a serious misconduct, the government or the employing authority may, with a reasonable opportunity to show cause, terminate, suspend or revoke his retirement benefits in whole or in part. It was proposed to repeal this section. The cabinet did not agree. The cabinet has maintained the previous one.

Government employees on post-retirement leave (PRL) are not allowed to go abroad or join employment elsewhere. The Ministry of Public Administration had proposed to amend this section and add a provision to get the permission of the government. The cabinet did not approve it either. However, there were some clerical errors in the previous law. The cabinet secretary also said that they have been fixed in the amended law.