The Services Committees of the Shura and Representatives Councils and the government taskforce held a joint meeting today under the chairmanship of Representatives Council Speaker, Fawzia bint Abdullah Zainal, and in the presence of Shura Council Chairman, Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh, and Minister of Finance and National Economy, Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.
Members of both committees and representatives from the Ministry of Finance and National Economy and the Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) participated in the meeting.
Based on the results of the continuous meetings between representatives of the government and the legislative branch regarding the proposed amendments to ensure sustainability of the pension funds and enhance their capability to honour their future obligations and protect the rights of the pensioners and subscribers, the government asserted its adoption of the proposed amendments by the legislative branch. Accordingly, the institutions, and not the individuals, shall bear mainly the amendments through their commitments with the pension funds as follows:
1- An increase in pensions by 6%, with a maximum of BD 60 for the pensioner, in addition to disbursing an annual increase whenever surpluses are achieved in the funds in accordance with the law in force.
2- Adding five optional incentive years above the normal retirement age for those who want that and raising the maximum retirement pension to 90%, and considering the normal retirement age as 60 years.
3- Enrolling non-Bahrainis in the social insurance system by calculating the end-of-service gratuity.
4- Increasing Gradually the percentage of insurance contributions until it reaches 27%, provided that the percentage of individual contributions does not exceed 1%.
5- Maintaining the nominal years of service, provided that the government bears the actuarial cost.
6- Settlement of the retirement pension on the average of the last five years before retirement.
During the meeting, the Representatives Council Speaker underlined keenness of the legislative and executive branches to achieve sustainability in the pension funds to protect the rights of the pensioners and subscribers, ensure their capability to honour their future obligations, and coordinate efforts to overcome challenges according to a national vision that places the supreme interest of the nation and citizens as top priority.
The Speaker commended the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the continuous support and follow-up of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. She also praised the efforts of the Minister of Finance and National Economy to maintain such meetings between the legislative and executive branches to achieve common goals and aspirations.
For his part, the Shura Council Chairman, Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh, lauded keenness of both branches on exchanging visions and reaching agreements to preserve rights and national gains. He praised continuous cooperation between the two branches to map out a common vision to overcome challenges and ensure sustainability of the pension funds and their capability to honour their future obligations.
The Minister of Finance and National Economy affirmed that reaching this agreement between the executive and legislative branches is a boost to the diverse successes aimed at serving citizens and further enhancing cooperation between the two branches. He praised the role of the legislative branch in supporting the efforts to overcome the challenges facing the pension funds and protect the rights of pensioners and subscribers.
Source: Bahrain News Agency