PESHAWAR, Jun 18 (APP):Pension expenditure has increased by 100% in the last few years, said Minister of Finance Taimur Saleem Jhagra while addressing a budget speech in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly here on Friday.
Giving detail, he said, the pension expenditure was only 1% of the budget in 2004-05, now it is 13.8%. The system is being reformed to reduce pension expenditure, Taimur Saleem Jhagra added.
The minimum retirement age in the province is 55 years and the service limit is 25 years, he informed. He said such an initiative will save Rs 12 billion annually.
He said, changing the pension rules and reducing the number of pension beneficiaries will save Rs 1 billion annually while the pensions of deceased employees will be given to their widows, parents or children.
He said, widows’ pension is being increased by 100% instead of 75% and the provincial government is making reforms for contributory pensions. The minimum monthly wage of laborers in the province has been raised to Rs 21,000, he added.