ADB to give $100m soft loan for UPS strengthening

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed to providing a US$100 million soft loan for strengthening the Universal Pension System project, with a feasibility study currently underway, officials said.

The commitment was disclosed at a high-level meeting held on Tuesday afternoon at the Finance Minister's office,

The meeting was chaired by Finance Minister Mr. Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury. The meeting was attended by the Executive Chairman of the National Pension Authority Dr. Surattuzzaman, senior officials of the authority, Finance Secretary Dr. Khairuzzaman Majumder, and senior officials of the Finance Division.

In its presentation, the National Pension Authority said that as of 30 April 2026, a total of 377,545 citizens had registered under four schemes-Probashi, Pragati, Suraksha and Samata.

Total deposits in the pension fund stood at around Tk 25.57 billion, while total investments, including profits, reached Tk 27.97 billion.

The meeting was informed that about 85 per cent of Bangladesh's total workforce is employed in the informal sector. It also noted that the elderly dependency ratio is projected to rise from 9.4 per cent in 2023 to 24 per cent in 2050 and 48 per cent in 2075, underscoring the need to further strengthen and expand the universal pension system.

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