Years of service, now poverty: The struggle of Afghanistan’s pensioners

KABUL: Some retirees in Afghanistan report facing serious livelihood challenges due to the non-payment of their pensions, especially as the weather is getting cold, making it difficult for them to meet their basic needs. They express that years of serving in government agencies have now turned into hardship, with many pensioners struggling to find food, clothing, and fuel. This is particularly concerning as their pension contributions were systematically deducted from their salaries and deposited into the government treasury during their service. The Taliban’s Ministry of Finance has announced that the payment process for pensions has begun gradually. However, the Afghanistan Pensioners’ Association claims that the implementation of this process is such that a significant number of pensioners are effectively excluded from receiving their dues. According to the association, even though payments have commenced, the amounts disbursed in some cases are less than what the pensioners are rightfully owed. Currently, before the Taliban’s takeover, over 160,000 pensioners were receiving monthly salaries in the country. Now, thousands of pensioner families are living in difficult economic conditions with rising prices of basic goods, without a stable source of income, and are still waiting for a resolution regarding their pension rights.