Old pension scheme restored for new Sindh govt employees

KARACHI: The Sindh government has abolished the contribution pension scheme announced for government employees and restored the old pension system for new employees.

According to the details, in September 2024, the Sindh cabinet had approved the Sindh Defined Contributory Pension Scheme (SDCPS) for newly recruited provincial employees, under which it was decided to provide a defined contribution pension to government employees in place of pension and gratuity.

Under the scheme, every government employee was to deposit 10% of the basic salary every month, while the government would deposit 12% of the basic salary of this employee.

After approval from the cabinet, its formal notification was also issued on November 1.

In September, the cabinet chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali had approved the insertion of a new clause in the Sindh Civil Servants Act, 1973, for SDCPS 2024.

According to the proposed amendment, a person appointed or regularized as a government servant on or after the commencement of the Sindh Civil Servants (Amendment) Act, 2024, will be considered a government servant except for pension and gratuity.

However, now a year later, as per the office memorandum issued by the Secretary of Finance on September 17, the office memorandum issued in this regard on November 1, 2024, has been withdrawn, and thus the scheme has now been terminated.