Bangladesh

Old Age, Disability, and Survivors

Regulatory Framework

First and current laws: 1971 (survivors); 1998 (old age); 2001 (disability).

Type of program: Social assistance system.

Coverage

Low-income citizens residing in Bangladesh.

Special system for public-sector employees.

Source of Funds

Insured person: None.

Self-employed person: None.

Employer: None.

Government: The total cost.

Qualifying Conditions

Old-age pension (means tested): Age 65 (men) or age 62 (women) with monthly income up to 3,000 taka. Only one member from each family can receive the pension. Income must be below 3,000 taka a month. Community committees select those elderly who are perceived to be the most vulnerable within their locality. Of those selected, at least half need to be women.

Disability pension (means tested): Paid to persons aged 6 or older assessed with at least one of the five categories of disability: hearing, visual, speech, intellectual, and physical impairment. Annual income must not exceed taka 24,000; must be ineligible for an old-age pension or other government or non-government allowances. A designated committee determines eligibility, giving priority to the elderly, homeless, women with multiple disabilities, and poor and intellectually impaired children in economically disadvantaged areas of the country.

Survivor allowance (means tested): Paid to widows and women who are divorced or abandoned by their husbands with monthly income up to 12,000 taka. Community targeting is used to identify needy women.

Old-Age Benefits

Old-age pension (means tested): 300 taka a month is paid.

Permanent Disability Benefits

Disability pension (means tested): 300 taka a month is paid.

Survivor Benefits

Survivor allowance (means tested): 900 taka is paid each quarter.

Administrative Organization

Ministry of Social Welfare (http://www.msw.gov.bd) administers the program.

Local branches of government-run banks pay old-age pensions.

Department of Social Services (http://www.dss.gov.bd) pays disability and survivor benefits.

Sickness and Maternity

Regulatory Framework

First law: 1939.

Current law: 2006 (labor law).

Type of program: Employer-liability system.

Coverage

Cash sickness benefits (employer liability): Employees in manufacturing and in firms with five or more workers.

Exclusions: Household workers, family laborers, self-employed persons, and informal-sector workers.

Cash maternity benefits (employer liability): Employed women.

Medical benefits (employer liability): All employed persons.

Source of Funds

Insured person: None.

Self-employed person: Not applicable.

Employer: The total cost.

Government: Funds government hospitals.

Qualifying Conditions

Cash sickness benefits (employer liability): Must be in insured employment.

Cash maternity benefits (employer liability): Must have at least six months of employment with the same employer on the expected date of childbirth.

Sickness and Maternity Benefits

Sickness benefit (employer liability): 100% of earnings is paid for up to 14 days a year.

Maternity benefit (employer liability): The insured's average wage in the last three months of work before giving notice, is paid for eight weeks before and eight weeks after childbirth for up to two live births. Unpaid leave is provided for the third and subsequent births. If the mother dies during childbirth or up to eight weeks after the childbirth, the benefit is paid to the person who cares for the child.

Workers' Medical Benefits

Medical benefits (employer liability): On-site medical facilities are provided for employees of firms with at least 300 workers. A medical allowance of 100 taka a month is paid to workers whose employer does not provide medical facilities.

Administrative Organization

Ministry of Labor and Employment (http://www.mole.gov.bd) supervises the program.

Public Health Service administers public health services.

Work Injury

Regulatory Framework

First law: 1923.

Current law: 2006 (labor law).

Type of program: Employer-liability system.

Coverage

Employees of railways, docks, estates, and factories with five or more workers.

Exclusions: Household workers, family laborers, self-employed persons, and informal-sector workers.

Source of Funds

Insured person: None.

Self-employed person: Not applicable.

Employer: The total cost.

Government: None.

Qualifying Conditions

Work injury benefits: There is no minimum qualifying period for permanent or temporary disability benefits. The insured must have at least three years of continuous service for the survivor benefit.

Temporary Disability Benefits

Temporary disability benefit: 100% of the insured's earnings is paid for the first two months, 66.7% of earnings for the next two months, and 50% of earnings for subsequent months of disability or for up to a year, whichever is shorter. The disability must last at least three days.

Death grant: A lump sum of 30 days of the deceased's wages is paid for every year of service.

Permanent Disability Benefits

Permanent disability benefit: Up to 125,000 taka is paid.

Partial disability: A percentage of the full pension is paid according to the assessed loss of earning capacity.

Survivor Benefits

Survivor benefit: 30 days of the insured's wages for every year of service or a lump sum of up to 125,000 taka, whichever is greater, is paid to surviving dependents in proportions determined by a labor court.

Administrative Organization

Commissioner of Workmen's Compensation provides supervision.

Ministry of Labor and Employment (http://www.mole.gov.bd) administers the program.

Unemployment

Regulatory Framework

No statutory unemployment benefits are provided.

The 2006 labor law requires employers in commerce and industry to provide a termination benefit, a retrenchment (reduction in work force) and layoff benefit, and a benefit for discharge from service for ill health.

Permanent employees with monthly salaries receive half of the average basic wage for 120 days (plus a lump sum of one month of salary for each year of service); casual workers for 60 days (plus a lump sum of 14 days of wages for each year of service); and temporary workers for 30 days.