Industrial and commercial employees registered and insured with the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) become entitled to receive pension on retirement for which the age limit is 60 years for men and 55 years for women.

Pursuant to Section 22 sub-section 2(c) and 2(d), those who retire up to five years before the stipulated age stand to receive only a reduced pension under a given formula. After having been registered with the EOBI for 25 years, I retired in 1998 at the age of 55 years, and have since been receiving a curtailed pension; Rs5,735 per month instead of Rs8,500.

The government has recently revised the amount of pension from Rs8,500 to Rs10,000, which is good, but far from being good enough. The increase is in no way enough to fight off the current wave of sky-high inflation. The plight of those receiving reduced pension, as such, is pathetic. The fact is that this category of EOBI pensioners mostly comprises individuals aged 75-80 years. The relevant authorities should consider the matter sympathetically, and allow them to receive at least the full and revised pension amount of Rs10,000 per month. Such an act of kindness will surely be appreciated by the old pensioners who are seriously struggling for long to keep the wheels of life moving.

Syed Iqbal Hussain

Karachi