Policy Brief November 2025 Strengthening Social Protection in Bangladesh Gaps, Costs and Policy Recommendations Key Findings „ „ „ Key Recommendations „ „ „ Introduction 1. Current Scenario

Percentage 80 21 22 22 18 20 10 10 10 11 02 0 Source:  FRXQWU\ %DQJODGHVK 2

12 12 11 11 10 11 12 11 10 10 12 12 8 Percentage Source: 3

2. Estimated Funding Requirements for Universal Social Protection in Bangladesh 3. Potential Pathway Towards a Universal Social Protection Scheme 3.1. Proposed Framework for Universal Pension Scheme(UPS) 4

3.2. Proposed Framework for Universal Child Benefits(UCB) 4. Policy Recommendations 5

• Prioritise key programmes and slowly phase out targeted programmes to move towards a universal scheme: • Strengthening governance and accountability through grievance redress, community engagement, and monitoring of corruption risks: • Invest in digitalisation for efficiency, transparency and cost reduction: • Index benefits to inflation to preserve purchasing power: • Expand urban coverage by mapping labour-intensive areas and targeting the urban poor: • Introduce a single registry dynamic data system that is connected to the birth certificate and National ID (NID) to reduce exclusion and overlap: 6

Growth With Equity: Contemporary Development Challenges Of Bangladesh  Towards a Social Protection Strategy for Bangladesh  Journey Towards an Equitable Society: Social Security Budget Report 2025-26  E G L W H V H I D X O W I L O H V I L O H V R S R U W D O J R E G D J H E H F B F B E I B E B D H E F D F G %DQJODGHVK  Re-strategising the Economy and Mobilizing Resources for Equitable and Sustainable Development  Universal Social Protection to Achieve the SDGs 7

About the Authors Fahmida Khatun Syed Yusuf Saadat Afrin Mahbub Anindita Islam Safrina Kamal Imprint Jointly Published by Funded by Responsible Contact About CPD About FES *HUPDQ\ Disclaimer Centre for Policy Dialogue(CPD) Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung(FES) Bangladesh