Year
2026
Reform Domain
Manifesto Watch
Education
Source of Reform Proposals
Election Manifesto of Bangladesh Nationalist Party - BNP
Reform Proposed
Reform Initiated
Legal and Policy Framework
Operationalisation
Action Implementation
Stage of Implementation
Reform Proposed
Last Update: 10-Sep-26
This pledge was articulated in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) election manifesto for Bangladesh’s 13th national election. The manifesto states that "Initiatives will be taken to create a simple, digital payment model so pension-covered teachers can receive retirement benefits into their own bank accounts immediately after retirement.”
Reform Initiated
Last Update: 10-Sep-26
On 23 April 2026, the education minister informed Parliament that the government had stepped up efforts to expedite retirement and welfare benefit payments for teachers and employees of non-government educational institutions. He stated that the issue was being treated as a priority and that concrete steps had been taken to address the long delay in payment.
Legal and Policy Framework
Last Update: 10-Sep-26
On 18 May 2026, the Secondary and Higher Education Division formally reconstituted the governing bodies of the Non-Government Educational Institutions Teachers and Employees Retirement Benefit Board and the Welfare Trust. Following this institutional reorganisation, the digital processing of retirement and welfare-benefit applications continued through the existing iBAS++ system. On 23 May 2026, the Welfare Trust reported that applications received through April 2023 had been disposed of through iBAS++. The Retirement Benefit Board’s official portal also provides online application, application tracking and online fund-transmission services.
Operationalisation
Last Update: 10-Sep-26
On 15 August 2026, the government formally launched nationwide payment of retirement and welfare benefits for teachers and employees of non-government educational institutions. Applications were processed through iBAS++, and payments were transferred directly to beneficiaries’ bank accounts across all 64 districts. The government made a one-time allocation of Tk 2,035.86 crore for the programme.
Follow-up reporting on 17 August confirmed that beneficiaries had begun receiving payments in their bank accounts. Around 70,119 retirement-benefit applications and 53,477 welfare-benefit applications were covered, with payments transferred through iBAS++ after verification of National ID and bank-account information.
Follow-up reporting on 17 August confirmed that beneficiaries had begun receiving payments in their bank accounts. Around 70,119 retirement-benefit applications and 53,477 welfare-benefit applications were covered, with payments transferred through iBAS++ after verification of National ID and bank-account information.
Observation
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The government has made substantial progress in simplifying retirement and welfare-benefit payments through digital processing and direct bank transfers. However, the current system is still addressing a large backlog of pending applications, and a section of total beneficiaries has received partial payments. Further progress will depend on whether future retirees can receive their full benefits within a consistently short period after retirement, as committed in the manifesto. The government has started addressing the long delays in retirement benefit payments and has begun large-scale disbursement. However, the large backlog and funding shortage show that an immediate and full digital retirement benefit is still pending.