Islamabad:
The Federal Government introduced the Tax Pension Plan for government employees last year. However, there is now the possibility of a greater delay in the implementation of the scheme for the Armed Forces in the next federal budget for fiscal year 2025–26.
The Ministry of Finance has proposed to grant an exemption to the military personnel of the Tax Pension Plan in the budget of the next fiscal year, Fuentes said. However, the final approval for this proposal will be sought from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The sources said that during the visit of the IMF delegation to Pakistan next month, discussions about the proposal to exempt the military personnel of the contributory pension plan are expected.
They said that the Armed Forces personnel were initially scheduled to be included in the scheme since July 1, 2025. The scheme had been implemented for the new employees of the civil government since July last year.
The sources said that no mechanism has been developed to include the armed forces in the scheme. Due to the lack of a defined structure and procedure, the implementation is unlikely even next year. The IMF has not established any condition that requires the immediate inclusion of the armed forces personnel in the scheme.
According to the Tax Pension Plan, the employee must contribute to 10% of the basic salary of the employee, while the Federal Government would contribute to 20% of the basic salary of the employee to the pension fund.
