Economic Coordination Committee green-lights major pension reforms

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Thursday approved major changes to the federal government’s pension system, set to be notified on July 1 after formal endorsement of the federal cabinet. The ECC, presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, also sanctioned nearly Rs500 billion in technical and supplementary grants just two days before the close of the fiscal year 2023-24. The committee also decided to relaunch the “Risk Coverage Scheme for SMEs” and approved a Ministry of IT summary to return Rs11.13bn to the Universal Service Fund (USF) to address the budget shortfall. Informed sources said the changes to the pension scheme for civilians would come into force on July 1, while its application to the armed forces would follow with effect from the subsequent fiscal year, i.e. 2025-26.