Karachi: In a major policy reversal, the Sindh government has scrapped the contribution-based pension system for provincial employees and has decided to restore the old pension scheme for all new government recruits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to official details, in September 2024, the Sindh cabinet had approved the Sindh Defined Contributory Pension Scheme (SDCPS) for newly hired employees. Under the SDCPS, employees were required to contribute 10 percent of their basic salary every month, while the government would contribute 12 percent of the basic pay to the pension fund. The scheme was meant to replace the traditional pension and gratuity system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After cabinet approval, the scheme was formally notified on November 1, 2024. Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, while chairing the cabinet meeting at the time, had also approved amendments to the Sindh Civil Servants Act 1973. The Sindh Civil Servants (Amendment) Act 2024 introduced a provision stating that anyone appointed or regularized as a government servant after its commencement would only be entitled to benefits under the new contribution-based system instead of the conventional pension and gratuity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government had argued that the old pension structure was financially unsustainable and that a contributory model would reduce the burden on the provincial exchequer. Officials claimed it would help ensure long-term financial discipline by creating an employee-funded mechanism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the new scheme quickly became controversial. Government employees, unions, and civil servant associations strongly opposed the SDCPS, arguing that it placed an unfair financial burden on employees and undermined their long-term security. They contended that the conventional pension system was a guaranteed post-retirement right that should not be compromised. Legal experts also pointed out that the changes could potentially create a two-tier system, leading to discrimination between employees hired before and after November 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facing resistance and sustained lobbying, the provincial government eventually reconsidered its decision. On September 17, 2025, exactly a year later, the Secretary of Finance issued an office memorandum withdrawing the earlier notification of November 1, 2024. This effectively abolished the SDCPS and reinstated the old pension and gratuity system for all government employees, including new recruits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This reversal means that all civil servants, whether hired before or after the amendment, will now be entitled to pensions and gratuity under the pre-2024 system. Experts suggest the decision may significantly increase the financial burden on the Sindh government in the long run. Pension payments already account for a large portion of the provincial budget, and with the restoration of the old scheme, these liabilities are expected to grow further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Analysts believe that while the move is politically popular and welcomed by employees, it poses serious questions about fiscal sustainability. The provincial government will have to explore ways to manage the rising pension bill, which is likely to strain resources for development projects and other essential services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Employee unions have welcomed the announcement, terming it a victory for workers\u2019 rights. They credited collective struggle and unity for forcing the government to withdraw the scheme. On the other hand, financial experts warn that without pension reforms, the province may eventually face difficulties in meeting long-term obligations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karachi: In a major policy reversal, the Sindh government has scrapped the contribution-based pension system for provincial employees and has decided to restore the old pension scheme for all new government recruits. According to official details, in September 2024, the Sindh cabinet had approved the Sindh Defined Contributory Pension Scheme (SDCPS) for newly hired employees. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","inline_featured_image":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3859443944190656_798604363342440":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13570"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13572,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13570\/revisions\/13572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}