Islamabad:
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was informed on Wednesday that the age of the beneficiaries of the Employee Old Benefits Institution (EOBI) will be determined on the basis of the CNIC Registry instead of the registration certificate, and pensioners will obtain an increase in their pensions from May 1.
It was also told to the committee that EOBI disbursed RS2.79 billion between 5,131 false pensioners.
A PAC meeting under the president of Junaid Akbar examined the audit lands of the Ministry of Pakistani abroad.
During the meeting, audit officials informed the Committee that EOBI had disbursed RS2.79 billion to non -eligible or false pensioners.
According to the audit report, of approximately 800,000 pensioners, it was discovered that the data of more than 5,000 people were incorrect. The pensions were issued to people whose birth dates did not coincide between their CNIC and the registration certificates. In some cases, men under 60 and women under 55 received pensions, in violation of eligibility criteria.
Audit officials revealed that age manipulation was used to grant pensions to more than 5,000 unqualified people.
EOBI officials informed the committee that the institution’s fund is currently RS600 billion. They added that there are around 10 million companies in the country, and any business with at least 10 employees must register in EOBI. They said they verify the age of the beneficiaries through CNIC and other sources.
The Ministry of the Secretary of Pakistani abroad said that pension cases would now be resolved on the basis of the CNIC, adding that Eobi pensions will be raised as of May 1.
The president of PAC, Junaid Akbar Khan, said there should be a standard criterion to determine the age of pensioners. The president of EOBI said that they would now issue CNIC -based pensions using Nadra’s data.
The Ministry of Secretary of Pakistanis abroad requested a month to rectify the problems. The committee ordered the Ministry to investigate the matter and submit a report within a month.
Audit officials also revealed that EOBI had not recovered RS2.47 billion of 2,864 institutions. EOBI officials said these institutions did not register their full workforce and did not pay their amounts due. EOBI has recovered RS1,53 billion but has still worked on the recovery of RS1 billion, partly because some cases of recovery were stuck in court.
The president of the Committee ordered EOBI officials to complete recovery within a month.
