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A new law is being mooted in Qatar to bring the social security system for Qatari and other GCC nationals on par with international standards, according to Minister of Economy and Finance H.E. Yousuf Hussein Kamal.
The Minister said studies were being conducted to add many more “advantages and benefits” for those who will be subject to the provisions of the proposed law.
This would ensure decent living for the beneficiaries and their dependents “based on justice and equality for all, without any discrimination.”
A retiree receives an average monthly pension of QR21,500 ($5,890) in 2011, while the pension of those who were eased out of service due to disability amounted to QR13,149 ($3,602).
The dependents of those who died in service receive an average monthly pension of QR15, 093 ($4,135). Beneficiaries mostly included widows and unmarried daughters.
The pensioners totalled a little more than 5,000 in 2011 – their number having risen steeply from 1,400 the previous year (2010).
The vast majority of the pensioners (93.3%) were from the government sector.
In a foreword to the 2011 Report of the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority (GRSIA), Kamal said: “The draft of a new law is ready, prepared by the Authority, and the proposed legislation would soon see the light of day.”
The value of the retirement fund in 2011 was QR20.75bn ($5.68bn). Its revenues totalled QR719m ($197m), with most of the investment (85.4%) parked locally, reported Qatar News Agency.
Subscribers to retirement schemes totalled 46,818 in 2011. Government departments and private sector companies participating added up to 479, up 13% over the previous year.
The number of male and female subscribers was almost equal (51.3% male, and 48.7% female). Their contributions rose a huge 30% in 2011 due to the implementation of increased pay scales for public servants that year.
Some 47 Qatari subscribers were in other GCC states and some 68% of them were state employees, with most of them based in Kuwait.
More than 2,100 citizens of other GCC states were members of the retirement scheme in Qatar, and 71.8% of them were state employees. The majority (61.3%) of the other GCC citizens were from Oman.Â
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