ISLAMABAD: Some 600,000 ghost pensioners have been identified who have been receiving up to Rs43 billion annually, claimed top official of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).
Mudassir Khan, Senior Executive Vice President of the NBP, while giving a briefing to Senate Standing Committee on Finance, revealed that these ghost pensioners were identified during the process of opening bank accounts of all the pensioners. He maintained that the ghost pensioners were receiving pensions from the military, the federal government and the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institute (EOBI).
Though the official did not disclose the accurate amount of loss, however, if a pensioner takes Rs6,000 per month, the estimated figure would be near Rs43.2 billion per annum.
The federal government paid Rs219 billion in civilian and military pensions in the last fiscal year and Rs43 billion is roughly one-fifth of the total amount. Three-fourths of the total pension budget or Rs167 billion, goes to military pensioners.
