The Situation of Pensioners in Pakistan and the World: An Analysis
The rapidly growing elderly population worldwide has become a serious social and economic challenge. People reaching retirement age need pensions to live with dignity in the later years of their lives. Unfortunately, this facility is not available to everyone.
Global Perspective
According to international data, there are about 830 million people aged 65 and above across the globe today. A large portion of them is entitled to retirement benefits or pensions in some form. However, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reports that nearly 165 million elderly people have no access to any kind of old-age pension. This highlights that pension systems across the world are uneven, leaving millions of elderly people financially vulnerable.
The Case of Pakistan
In Pakistan, the situation is even more complex. Out of nearly 15 million elderly people (aged 60 or 65 and above), only about 3 million receive pensions. These pensions mainly come from two sources:
Government pensions: For retired federal and provincial government employees.
EOBI (Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution): For registered private-sector workers.
Unfortunately, over 90% of the workforce employed in the informal sector remains outside the pension net. As a result, a significant proportion of elderly citizens in Pakistan face financial dependency, poverty, and health challenges in their later years.
Pakistan’s pension system
Pakistan’s pension system is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Pension expenditures are consuming a large portion of the national budget. At the same time, coverage in the private and informal sectors is negligible. Sustainable solutions may include:
Introduction of a Universal Pension Scheme.
Expanding coverage to private and informal sector workers.
Managing pension funds with modern investment strategies to ensure sustainability.
If Pakistan does not adopt effective pension reforms, millions of elderly citizens will face poverty and financial distress in the coming years. This issue is also intensifying globally, and it requires collective efforts at both national and international levels to ensure dignified living for the elderly.
PTV and Radio Pakistan Pensioners — Forgotten Benefactors
Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan were once symbols of national pride and identity. Their employees worked day and night to create programs that not only informed and entertained the public but also projected a positive image of Pakistan across the world. Yet today, those very retired employees, who should have been celebrated as national heroes, are forced to live lives of poverty and neglect.
After decades of service, when pensioners look to the state for support in their old age, they are met with nothing but delayed payments, meager amounts, and sheer indifference. In a country where inflation has touched the skies, offering a few thousand rupees as pension is nothing short of cruelty. Their files gather dust in offices for years, while they go from pillar to post in search of justice.
Adding insult to injury, medical facilities are practically nonexistent. These elderly employees, struggling with serious health issues, stand at hospital doors longing for treatment that is their basic right. Is this the justice promised by those who claim to establish a “State of Madinah”?
This situation is not only disgraceful but also a matter of national shame. If the state cannot provide even the most basic facilities to its benefactors in their old age, then who will feel motivated to serve national institutions with dedication in the future? The government must immediately raise pension payments in line with inflation, ensure timely and transparent disbursement, and provide retired employees with adequate medical allowances and dedicated healthcare facilities.
The voices of pensioners will not remain silent any longer. If the authorities continue to ignore them, these frail yet determined elders will be compelled to protest—and the blame will rest squarely on the shoulders of those in power who chose to remain deaf to their cries.
Silencing the voices of pensioners falls into the realm of sin. If the institutions and the government do not change their ways, these helpless elders will be left with no choice but to protest — and at that time, the responsibility will rest squarely on the rulers who today refuse to heed their cries.
Today, those sitting on the seats of power and authority in public, semi-government, and private institutions must pause for a moment and reflect: if not tomorrow, then in the near future, they too will retire and stand in the very same line. Therefore, it is wiser to establish a fair system now — if not for others, then at least for themselves — a system that will ultimately benefit them as well.
Safdar Hamadani
