EOBI paid Rs2.79 billion in wrongful pensions to 5,131 individuals, audit reveals

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has revealed that the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) incorrectly distributed Rs2.79 billion in Old Age Benefit Pensions to 5,131 individuals by altering their recorded ages. 

According to a media report, this was disclosed by audit officials during a PAC meeting chaired by Junaid Akbar. The committee reviewed the audit reports for the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis covering the fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24.

According to the audit, EOBI paid pensions to individuals who were below the required age threshold — men under 60 and women under 55. Shockingly, some recipients were as young as 31 years old. 

The audit officials identified the discrepancies by cross-referencing birth dates from the pension records, which revealed that some recipients were listed as born in 1950 or 1960, well before they were eligible for pension benefits.

EOBI’s chairman explained to the PAC that the pension payments were based on the birth dates mentioned in the recipients’ matriculation certificates. 

However, PAC Chairman Junaid Akbar raised concerns about discrepancies between the dates on matriculation certificates and national identity cards. He called for standardising the procedure, suggesting that future pension distributions be based on the national identity card data, which would align with NADRA records.

The PAC directed the ministry to conduct a thorough investigation into the issue and submit a detailed report within one month. 

Additionally, audit officials highlighted that EOBI has failed to recover Rs2.47 billion from 2,864 institutions. EOBI officials responded that they had recovered Rs72 billion so far this year, up from Rs66 billion last year.