Employees' Old-Age Benefits Act, 1976

This 1976 act set up Pakistan's compulsory old-age insurance scheme for employees in industry and commerce, run through the Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI). Section 3 makes insurance compulsory for covered workers, and Section 1(4) sets out which employers it applies to -- currently, per later amendments, any industry or establishment employing five or more people (with smaller establishments able to opt in voluntarily under Section 1(4)(ia), or be brought in by Federal Government notification).

The scheme is administered by the Institution, managed by a Board of Trustees (Sections 4-8A), which oversees its operations. Chapter III covers how it's funded: Section 9 sets contribution rates, Section 9A covers a Government contribution, Section 9B an insured person's own contribution, and employers must keep records and file returns (Section 10) and register their establishments (Section 11). Unpaid contributions can be recovered as arrears of land revenue (Section 13), and Section 14 protects an insured worker's benefit entitlement even if their employer fails to actually pay in the required contributions.

Chapter V sets out the actual benefits: an old-age pension (Section 22), an old-age grant (Section 22A), a survivor's pension for dependents (Section 22B), and an invalidity pension for workers permanently unable to earn a normal living from their usual occupation (Section 23, read with the 'invalidity' definition in Section 2(k)). The Schedule attached to the Act gives the pension formula -- roughly 2% of average monthly wages multiplied by years of insurable employment -- and, per a 2008 amendment reflected in the text, sets a minimum pension of not less than two thousand rupees per month for pensions starting on or after 1 July 2008, with pensions already being paid before that date increased by fifteen percent.

Chapter VI covers common rules for all benefits, including how contribution periods are calculated (Section 24), how claims are made (Section 25), and that benefits cannot be attached, assigned or used to satisfy debts (Section 29). Chapter VII sets up a dispute process, with decisions on claims (Section 33), a right of review (Section 34) and appeal to the Board (Section 35). Offences and their prosecution are addressed in Sections 37-38, though this extract does not include their specific penalty details.

This Act has been amended repeatedly over the decades -- in 1983, 1986, 1994, 2001, 2007 and 2008 among others -- including changes to who is covered, contribution rules and pension amounts. Since the pension figures shown here date to a 2008 amendment, readers should check current EOBI rules and notifications for up-to-date contribution rates and pension amounts rather than relying on the 2008 figures alone.