The federal government is likely to further delay the inclusion of armed forces personnel in the contributory pension scheme, with a proposal under consideration to exempt military employees from the scheme in the upcoming budget 2025-26, sources said.
According to insiders, final approval for exempting the armed forces from the contributory pension system will be sought from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Discussions on this proposal are expected to take place during the IMF delegation’s scheduled visit to Pakistan next month.
Initially, it was planned that armed forces employees would be brought under the ambit of the contributory pension scheme starting from July 1, 2025. However, sources reveal that no comprehensive structure or methodology has been formulated yet for their inclusion, making its implementation unlikely for the next fiscal year as well.
The contributory pension scheme, which requires 10% of an employee’s basic salary to be deducted and supplemented by a 20% contribution from the federal government, has already been enforced for new civil government employees since July last year.
Sources further clarified that the IMF has not placed any immediate condition for the inclusion of armed forces employees into the scheme, providing the government some flexibility in its decision-making process.
