Privatising pensions is about expanding stock markets, liberalizing financial markets and changing the role of the state – and not about pensions. A. Ercelan and K. Ali with Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research present a critique of changing pension policies and support structures for the elderly in Pakistan.

For millions of senior citizens, old-age support remains essential to a decent life. Yet, state policy is quite defective in law, and even more deficient in application. As an explanation, it is the general callousness of state elites. Combined perhaps with some cynical “realism” -- pervasive poverty sharply reduces the probability of reaching and surviving old age among those that most deserve old age support. Islamabad may consider it less cruel to let the old-age poor vanish earlier rather than later with much more pain and anguish (and, potentially, a bigger diversion of public funds away from elite consumption).

Donors and government remain unaccountable to citizens for advice given and taken. Hence a public debate is necessary on the issues of old-age support – who has a right to what state support, as against with what is happening.

Public debate would be strengthened by facts -- among our senior citizens, who gets what from the public purse and why? The incredible inequity resulting from the land grants etc to the `retired’ military elite deserve a separate commentary; this note restricts itself to more simpler issues.

This note is modest in looking only at a one, but key, public organization -- the (federal) Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution [EOBI]. The motivation is simple but urgent: to promote collective resistance to the truncated mandate of EOBI, sneaked in as SME Policy through amendments to labour legislation via the Finance Bill 2006.

The report by PILER can be downloaded here.