The New Social Insurance Syste...

The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) recently clarified the details of the Cabinet's decision to approve the new social insurance system and determine the eligible categories. This system aims to improve and update retirement and insurance laws in line with current developments in the labor market.

Targeted Categories

According to the Cabinet's decision, the new system will apply to new employees in both the public and private sectors who do not have any previous contribution periods in the current civil retirement or social insurance systems. This means that only new employees will be subject to the provisions of this system, while the existing provisions of the current systems will continue to apply to current subscribers.

Exceptions and Amendments

Despite the continuation of the current systems' provisions, there are exceptions related to the statutory retirement age and the qualifying periods for entitlement to retirement pensions before reaching that age. These exceptions include subscribers with less than 20 years of contribution periods and those under 50 Hijri years of age at the date of the amendments' implementation.

Statutory Retirement Age

The institution clarified that the statutory retirement age for the eligible categories will be between 58 and 65 Gregorian years, with a gradual increase starting at 4 months on the current statutory retirement age. This change aims to balance the length of service with the requirements for pension entitlement.

Contribution Periods for Early Retirement

The contribution periods required for early retirement will be gradually increased to between 25 and 30 years. This increase will start at 12 months on the current period required for early retirement. This adjustment aims to provide longer service periods for employees, allowing them to benefit from retirement advantages more effectively.

Implementation of the New System

The institution announced that the new system and the provisions related to the statutory retirement age and the qualifying periods for pension entitlement for the eligible categories will come into effect on 27/12/1445 AH, corresponding to 03/07/2024 AD. The General Organization for Social Insurance also urged individuals to visit the dedicated awareness platform for more details and information about the new system through the link https://awareness.gosi.gov.sa.

Conclusion

The new social insurance system is an important step towards improving the retirement system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ensuring the rights of new and current employees. Through these amendments, the government aims to achieve a better balance between work requirements and retirement rights while ensuring the system's long-term sustainability.