The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that employees must generally have at least 15 years of contributions to qualify for a pension from the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI).
The court accepted an appeal filed by EOBI in a pension case involving a former bank employee and set aside the Islamabad High Court’s ruling, along with orders issued by the Federal Ombudsman and the President of Pakistan.
The verdict was delivered by a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, with Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi as members. The chief justice authored the 12-page judgment.
The case concerned former bank employee Javed Iqbal Bhatti, who had served for five years, 10 months and eight days. In 2015, he was granted an old-age grant of Rs48,000. The Federal Ombudsman subsequently ordered that he be paid a pension.
In its written judgment, the court ruled that the ombudsman could not bypass the specific legal procedure for determining pension eligibility. It said an order granting a pension could not be issued to a person who had failed to fulfil the legal requirements.
According to the court, a minimum of 15 years of contributions is generally required to qualify for a pension. Since the applicant had been insured from July 1, 2008, he was also not eligible for the special five-year concession. The court further clarified that the earlier approval of an old-age grant did not establish a right to receive a pension.
The court observed that the rejection of a pension application does not, in itself, constitute maladministration. Complaints involving arbitrariness, discrimination, negligence or unjustified delays are separate from disputes over legal eligibility for a pension.
It added that eligibility for benefits, their amount and the duration of payments must be determined under the EOBI law, which also provides procedures for review and appeal.
The court further stated that the EOBI law contains a mechanism for challenging decisions through review and appeal. An order issued without lawful jurisdiction cannot acquire legal validity merely through subsequent endorsement by the president or a court.