Repeat cuts in bank interest rates have had a drastic effect on thousands of pensioners and Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) beneficiaries who depend on the income they get from their fixed deposit accounts.
For example, a retired person who was receiving Rs. 10,000 a month on his savings now gets only Rs. 6,500, after the interest rate cuts. This is hardly sufficient to live on, against the soaring cost of living.
There is a big difference between the lot of civil servants and those who work in non-state sectors. Those in non-state sectors must work extra hard to keep their jobs, while those in government service enjoy promotions, increments, rewards and other benefits, regardless of how good or bad they are at their jobs, and knowing they have the backing of trade unions or their political connections if they are in danger of losing their jobs.
In this country, only politicians and government servants can look forward to a comfortable life of retirement on their pensions. We hear that a group of well-heeled pensioners have got together and hold lavish parties, with the backing of certain media institutions.
But private sector employees who had contributed to the EPF and the ETF all their working lives in the hope of passing their twilight years happily and peacefully must now live on a pittance till they breathe their last.
It is a shame that a person with Rs. 1 million in a fixed deposit in a Sri Lanka bank cannot get even Rs. 8,000 a month on his savings. How pathetic.
I got talking to a frail, elderly person on a train the other day. He said that on his pension he cannot afford to buy the medicines his doctor has ordered for his heart condition. One wonders how many hundreds or thousands of senior citizens are suffering like that poor old man.
Slashing the prices of motor vehicles and giving generous holiday package discounts are good for only a fraction of society, a privileged minority.
The Minister of Labour and Human Resources Management has introduced a pension scheme for private sector employees. This is a praiseworthy move, but it will not benefit those who are due to retire shortly. The state should come up with a plan to help the thousands of retirees who are struggling to survive on meagre incomes from their savings.
The government should take immediate action before things go from bad to worse for our senior citizens.
Squeezed, Senior
Citizen,
Kalutara. |
E-mail
