Pensioners, Govt Employees to Get 5pc Special Incentive

The government has made the decision to give public employees and pensioners a special annual incentive of 5% of their gross salary and benefits.

The exceptional allocation started taking effect on July 1st, per a notification from the finance ministry.

In accordance with Section 15 of the Public Service Act 2018, the incentive will also be given to employees of civil, self-governing, and state-owned organizations, banks, insurance companies, and financial institutions, as well as the Border Guard Bangladesh and the police force.

Every year on the first of July, the recipients will receive the incentive, which must be at least Tk1,000 for government workers and Tk500 for pensioners.

Government workers will receive a special bonus of 5% of their base pay, with a minimum of Tk 1,000, while pensioners, including those who have been reinstated, would receive the same amount on their net payable pension.

Additionally, according to the notice, government workers on post-retirement leave (PRL) are entitled to additional benefits at a comparable amount based on the basic pay they last received before beginning the PRL.

Employees who are suspended are also entitled to a special benefit, which is calculated at a rate of 5% on 50% of their basic salary immediately prior to the day of suspension, according to a notification from the finance ministry.

Employees who are on unpaid leave will not be eligible for the perk. Additionally, retired employees who have taken a full 100% of their gross pension as a benefit will not be eligible for it.

The incentive will be paid based on their basic pay in the event of a contractual appointment under the national pay scale.  However, if the contractual worker is a pensioner, they will be eligible for this benefit regardless of whether they get a basic salary or a net pension.

Other organizations will be required to pay the appropriate costs for providing the special advantages from their respective finances in addition to the organizations governed by funds from the government's revenue budget.

Last month, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal to pay 5% of basic salary, as a special incentive, to government employees and pensioners.

This benefit will be applicable on the basis of basic pay fixed in case of contractual appointment in any grade prescribed in the National Pay Scale. If the contractual employee is a pensioner, they shall be entitled to the benefit in either case on the basis of net pension or basic pay of the contractual employee.

As per the prime minister's recommendation, it has been calculated that the 11th-grade employees will get an incentive of Tk625. 

The incentive will be Tk565 in the 12th grade, Tk550 in the 13th grade, Tk510 in the 14th grade, Tk485 in the 15th grade, Tk465 in the 16th grade, Tk450 in the 17th grade, Tk440 in the 18th grade, Tk425 in the 19th grade, and Tk412.50 in the 20th grade.

Similarly, first-grade employees will get an additional incentive of Tk3,900 as 5% of the basic salary of Tk78,000. The basic salary in the second grade starts at Tk66,000. At this stage, the final basic salary with a 5% annual salary increase every year stands at Tk76,490. 

Based on the starting basic salary, the incentive will be Tk3,300. If the last basic salary is taken as the basis, the incentive will be Tk3,825.

In addition, according to the starting basic salary of the third grade of Tk56,500, the incentives will be Tk2,825. The incentive will be Tk2,500 in the fourth grade, Tk2,150 in the fifth grade, Tk1,775 in the sixth grade, Tk1,450 in the seventh grade, Tk1,150 in the ninth grade, and Tk1,100 in the ninth grade.