Plight of BDF’s forgotten soldiers
The Botswana government has ordered the Public Officers Pension Fund to locate missing records for retired soldiers to correct pension calculation errors. Many veterans are currently unable to access their full benefits due to administrative failures and rigid annuity laws.
Why it matters
This addresses systemic administrative failures affecting the financial security of military veterans, highlighting a conflict between government policy and individual welfare.
The Minster for State President, Defence and Security, Moeti Mohwasa has directed Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) to find missing records of retired Botswana Defence Force (BDF) soldiers whose transfer values on which to apply the n/375 denominator enhancement vanished, and to correct the anomaly.
Mohwasa told the last session of Parliament that BPOPF had committed to having completed the exercise by the end of August 2026. A group of retirees calling themselves, “The Forgotten Soldiers”, had complained that they were transferred from the old defined benefit scheme where they were already getting monthly pensions to the BPOPF, without their consent.
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